THE THIRD WORLD WAR
by andotrota
Summary: WWIII is finally here and US, Russia and EF are going to fight hard to win it. Officers and soldiers are caught in the crossfire and old wounds and new ones will tear them. But nothing is as it seems... First Fanfic. Revision in progress, some changes. Review. It's important.
1. Prologue

THE THIRD WORLD WAR by Andotrota

Disclaimer: I do not own Endwar and it's main characters, I own only my OCs

The BIG revision has started, so I suggest to watch daily if there are updates.

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Eventually it happened.

Six years of tension were discharged into a war that rivalled the intensity of all the conflicts of the twentieth century combined.

It all began in 2014 when, following the nuclear attacks in the Arabian Peninsula and the nuclear war of 2016, the local oil stocks were actually deleted from Earth, forcing Western countries to seek another source of supply. The Europeans turned to the south of Italy, the North Sea, Romania and Norway to secure a regular supply of petroleum. The United States, instead of taking up the national reserves in Texas and Alaska, shook commercial agreements with their enemies in South America , who now called themselves the Federation and based their economy on the export of oil from Argentina and Venezuela.

In the midst of all this chaos the Russian Federation experienced a golden age, which, though short, was good for the national economy. As the country with the largest oil reserves in the world in Siberia, new drill operations and oil refineries were put in place. Their main customers were China, the United States and, to a lesser extent, the EU.

For a couple of years this went on until, in 2017, a revolutionary discovery in the field of locomotion. New technologies made it possible to use hydrogen, methane and electricity with yields equal to or greater than fossil fuels. Their only problem? The cost.

To remedy the problem (and the increasing price of oil, which now touched 800 $ per barrel), the states that were part of a trade union, known as the European Union, united under a single banner, calling themselves henceforth European Federation, with its capital in Paris, and whose beating heart were the four states of Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

The federation of Europe was well received by the international market, but if the stock market happily welcomed it, the remaining superpowers didn't take it very well. Russia lost one of its main buyers of Black Gold, while America lost all its bases in Europe, including fundamental ones in Eastern European countries, which were successfully merged into the giant of the continent. The only states that were left out were Ireland, the UK and Switzerland.

Europe lost no time in create a formidable army, which exceeded 3 million units, incorporating the best technologies from each country: Armored vehicles from Germany, ships from Italy and aircraft from France, even building a space center in Matera, Italy, called Space Centre Europa, operated by the ESA ( the European equivalent of NASA), large enough to rival Balinkour and the JFK Space Center in Florida.

In response, the U.S. and Russia had expanded their armed forces, starting an arms race not seen since the end of the Cold War.

In the end it all came to a head on the morning of April 12, 2020. At 1600 hours, the scheduled launch of the Freedom IV, a shuttle with the aim of bringing material into orbit for the completion of the Freedom Star, a military space station with the purpose to render three USMC companies deployable everywhere around the globe in just 12 hours. Seconds after the booster ignition, the sky caught fire.

JFK SPACE CENTRE, FLORIDA, USA 16.00 12/4/2020

"A ray of blue light has just pierced the air and hit the Freedom IV! Still cannot believe it; Jack, frame the debris, let's go to see! Samuel Lombard Here for CNN, to you study the line. "

CNN HEADQUARTERS, ATLANTA, GEORGIA, 16.23 12/4/2020

Patricia Logan still could not believe it, even after 4 years passed as anchorwoman at CNN headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and after a further six in field service, during which she had covered the nuclear war in the Middle East and the Guinean crisis, had never seen anything like what happened today. It took a few seconds to compose herself and think about what she had to say. It was time to improvise. The paper on which she had written a series of praise for the technological successes of America and the next service on space travel had gone completely to hell. It was up to her to take a position on the subject. She made a mental ladder: first, show surprise second, comment on the events with her colleague, Bruce Ramirez and third: express her deepest condolences to the families of the astronauts.

She took a breath.

"Certainly disconcerting images the ones from JFK Space Center in Florida, where the Freedom IV, the last launch of supplies for the completion of the Freedom Star, was destroyed by what appears a beam of blue light, what do you think Bruce ? "

Bruce Ramirez, a former marine sergeant with a degree in journalism and a master of engineering was the ideal candidate for make companionship to Mrs. Logan for the reportage of the launch. He did not stay very shaken by the event ( thanks to the marine training and seven years in the front lines), and, unlike his colleague, he immediately regained his composure and began to speak those 10 seconds it takes to make recompose the woman.

"It 's definitely a ray of light, perhaps a directed energy weapon that has taken the lives of 40 American astronauts? For now we can only formulate hypotheses, waiting for an official press release of NORAD."

" Looking forward to this" Patricia said "We can only express our deepest condolences to the families of the crew members killed. From Patricia Logan and Bruce Ramirez is all for the moment. We'll return back at 5 PM for future updates from our colleagues on the spot "

The cameras went off and everyone in the study were silent for a few seconds, thinking about what had just happened. None of them still could not believe it : a thing like that could not be seen from September 11, 2001. Who could have done that terrorist attack? And why? Bruce knew that now was no more his job, but he was almost certain of one thing, that ray of blue light came from a HELSS, and the only ones who had at their disposal a similar technology were Europeans.

"_Shit_," he thought , "_Why the hell did they do that? Okay, we were a bit aggressive with them, but this certainly does not justify the killing of 40 U.S. citizens, plus unprovoked. What the hell was going on?_ " Certainly he at the time did not know, but people at the Pentagon and at NSA were certainly splitting in four to understand the event.

EFECCOM, PARIS, FRANCE, 12/04/2020 17:00

"Sir? Here we are "

" Uh, thanks Felipe, park and wait for the call, it may take a while "

" Yes, sir "

"Thank you Sergeant "

Colonel Andrea Germini, head of the 45th tactical battalion of the EFEC (European Federation Enforcer Corps, the special forces of the federation. ), Came out of the Mercedes - Benz sedan and closed the door. He adjusted his cross, gave a clean to both his medals and rank, then he made sure that his blue uniform was in order and waited for about ten seconds for the arrival of another person. The European military uniforms were inspired by WWII German uniforms, so they didn't needed a tie like their American and Russian counterparts. It was usually replaced by a neck medal for who had one, or nothing for who hadn't one. Luckily the colonel had one of the highest European Federation's decorations: the European Cross; awarded to him for his success in the 2019 campaign in Guinea.

"Colonel" greeted captain Ilaria Cimino, former personal assistant of General De Bankole and now his attendant, she was younger than him by at least 10 years, but Andrea knew that, despite her age, she did her job well. The woman stretched a fold of the skirt of her blue ADU while Germini responded to the salute.

"Captain" He said, greeting her touching his peaked cap, "I hope that your ADU is in order "

The colonel was a man always careful to order and precision, but that question surprised her, however: her commander and General De Bankole were old friends, and the general was a person from the ways of the type " I do not care if he is in a swimsuit , he gets the job done " That there was someone else? something that she, an intelligence officer did not know? She prayed not, perhaps it would have been a severe blow to her self-esteem.

"Yes, sir, it's in order "

"Good. Let's go "

They climbed the steps leading from the sidewalk at the entrance to the HQ of the EFEC, a complex of 6 floors dating from the early nineteenth century in the heart of Paris. The two men guarding the entrance, dressed in ceremonial uniform, snapped to attention as soon as they recognized the frieze of colonel on Germini's peaked hat, who quickly returned the salute without stopping. Ilaria imitated her CO and followed him in the hall. She could not keep up because of the officer heeled shoes of 5 cm that the female ADU required, and would have much preferred the shoes that Germini was wearing.

Andrea walked over to the central desk and said, "Colonel Andrea Germini, serial number 4756-9238-AG, I'm expected at a national security meeting of first importance "

The woman, a major, dry replied "Authorization"

" Authorization code 231.659.02 Black Viking "

" Confirmed colonel" she broke into a smile " Corporal, escort the colonel and his attendant at Bravo 5 "

A corporal in ADU beckoned the couple to follow him. The trio walked for ten minutes inside the building until they reached an elevator with black doors, guarded by two EFEC Kommandos, which froze at attention seeing two superiors. Andrea returned the salute and waited until the doors opened. A man motioned for him to come inside. Once inside the colonel approached his left eye to the iris reader, which, when finished scanning, told "Access confirmed, identity recognized, orders confirmed "

The elevator began to move.

"Sir, is it true? "

"I'm afraid yes captain Cimino, and it will not be easy to get out without a scratch "

"Sir? " said the third man.

"Do not worry, Sergeant Major, we will come out "

The man seemed to stir a few more seconds, struck by the words of the two officers who were definitely talking about the accident of an hour ago. It was obvious that were the Europeans, in the eyes of the world, who attacked the Freedom IV, but all under the EUROPE command, knew that was not true: no one had ordered an attack against the U.S., there was no reason, however, someone had carried out the attack, certainly no European military. Perhaps the key to the mystery was all in the subsequent investigations to the attack to Rovaniemi AFB, Finland, where 15 people were killed, including technicians and security personnel, plus an unknown number of hostile, which , from what they knew so far, had only stolen papers .

The elevator stopped and the doors opened into a corridor in which were stored the busts of some European leaders, from Julius Caesar to Napoleon. Andrea motioned to Ilaria to follow him along the deserted corridor. Once in the middle , one of the side doors near the main double doors swung open, revealing the stylized icon of a man carved into its upper part: The men's room, revealing a tall black man.

Germini shouted " Lieutenant General Du Bankole, Sir, Colonel Germini and Captain Cimino reporting, Sir "

Amadou Du Bankole, 44, Franco-African, was the commander of the Enforcer Corps. He and Germini had known each other about 11 years: they had met during a joint operation between the French and Italian special forces in Africa. The two had stayed in touch after the operation, and after the creation of the Federation, Andrea was the first to receive the invitation of Amadou to be one of the first commanders of the newly formed EC .

"Andrea, it is a pleasure to see you, especially today"

"It 's mutual General" Ge said, shaking his outstretched hand "The situation is getting worse minute by minute, we need to understand immediately what happened and resolve the crisis as soon as possible. Guess you remember captain Cimino "

" Sir "she said

He held out his hand, which she shook, and the close of the General was stronger than normal, you could see that he was agitated, though his stoic face left no pierce the slightest emotion.

" Who has already arrived? "

" Kowalski, Breger, Rinaldi, Montel, Me, and the two of you; Forquet is coming, like our guests "

" _Guests_ " Ilaria thought "_What guests_ ? "

"Shall we come in? "

" With pleasure "

General Du Bankole opened the door and Germini found himself in presence of four of the most important and influential of European armed forces members: to the left of the chair at the head table, sat admiral Viktor Kowalski, head of the navy (FEMF, Federal European Maritime Force), at his left sat general Jean Luc Montel, head of the air force (FEAF, Federal European Air Force). In the chair next to the one reserved Andrea, to the right of Amadou's, sat general Hans Breger, head of the army (FELF, Federal European Land Force). Next to him was general Roberto Rinaldi, head of the FEGC (Federal European Grenadier Corps). Andrea was there for the simple fact that he was the Enforcer commander with more experience on the field, as well as expert of foreign strategies, especially American. While he was about to sit down, Andrea saw that the seven chairs on the right were occupied by the military, while the other 6 were definitely going to be occupied by civilians, the last people that the Colonel wanted in a national security briefing. Ilaria had to settle for a chair next to the wall, along with other attendants. She turned her tablet and pressed on the folder named "Documents of the Colonel" ready to provide all the information that her superior needed.

"Seems that the EFEC has brought the best of the best as I see " Kowalski waved his hand towards Germini "Please Roberto, could you stop smoking? The smell of cigarette is making me sick"

"Let me finish this one" Said Rinaldi "But don't you think that we hae bigger issues in front of us, like a war?"

" Right. Colonel Germini, what do you think of the situation? " Asked Breger .

"General " Andrea began, removing his hat " I think this problem perhaps is the worst incident since the one 2019; the only one who can give us concrete answers is general Fouquet. For now, I can only speculate on hypothetical strategies of our opponents."

The room fell silent: the tension was palpable. Suddenly the door opened, revealing the figure of a redhead woman in her early forties (or late thirties, thanks to the miracles of modern medicine) in dress uniform, who hastened to greet those present in the room "Sorry if I am late, but do you have any ideas of what mess is out there?"

"Well well, as I hear from the chief of the EIA even the spies have the same problems that us, high ranking officers have. Lucréce, How long" Said Montel.

"Just two weeks, Jean. Luckily, I have a present for you all. A full analysis of the event" Said her.

"Great. Won't you mind briefing us?" Said Du Bankole, since the politicians would arrive only at 18.00

"Sure" Replied the head of the EIA (European Intelligence Agency), the European counterpart of the CIA and SVR.

After she began speaking, Ilaria noticed a familiar face: Lt. Federico Menendez, Fouquet's attendant. He sat near her and the two begun to talk about the old times for half an hour, but their discussion was interrupted by an officer of the Federation who entered through a side door from the left side of the table that announced "Ladies and Gentlemen, The President of the European Federation and its ministers" At the word " The presidant " all sprang to their feet and military saluted, clicking their heels and shouting " Madame President, Madame ." Inside came a procession of 5 people, the first two were personal assistants , while the others were all politicians : Andrea recognized the Premier Dvorak, Czechoslovak, the defense minister Poulain, and their commander: President Nathalie Pérreau, the first woman plus first President of the European Federation. She was confirmed as president in 2018, after a nearly unanimous vote of the European Council. In the early days Andrea didn't really like her for two reasons: she was of a leftist party and had redirected military funds towards green investments and research. During the crisis of 2019 in Guinea, however, she had sent immediately the military to resolve it, earning appreciation in the eyes of the colonel, and at the bottom was also thanks to her if he had received the European Cross, the highest award of the Federation. He and she, in spite of everything, were old friends: they had met 15 years earlier, when Andrea was a young lieutenant just out from Academy of Modena and was assigned to the Italian Embassy in Paris and she was a recent graduate of Political and foreign Sciences, and was part of the group of her father, Francois Pérreau, at the time assistant to the economy minister of France, but also an important businessman. She had only a year more than him and they had met by chance at a meeting between her father and the ambassador and they quickly became friends. Andrea's thoughts were interrupted by the woman who cleared her throat " Gentlemen, we have a big problem in our hands"

THE PENTAGON , WASHINGTON DC, USA 04/12/2020 18:32

David Becerra was the first Hispanic president in the history of the United States, not that it was such a radical change as the election of Robert Jackson years before , but because he was a Republican. The move to nominate him had been a great blow to the leaders of the party, not only because it had revived their popularity among the not WASP, but also because Becerra was a skilled diplomat, all thanks to a degree in law and economics, followed by a master's degree in political science and in the midst of all those degrees he found time to serve his country for 4 years in the USMC, ending his military career with the rank of gunnery sergeant and a silver star. But despite studies and experiences, nothing could prepare him for that.

When he was young and played with his friends in the barrio of Los Angeles, he would not have ever thought of becoming President of the United States, let alone receive a report of NORAD at 17:04 which confirmed the hypothesis of a European attack.

Within an hour he was at a meeting with key military and political leaders of the country to have a clear view of the event and decide what to do. Currently had word General Kellerman, former USAF general and now head of the CIA: "I have just received a message from the European section of the agency" he began " they confirm that the shot came from a HELSS, part of the SLAMS, that about two hours ago was flying over the JFK space Center "

"Then it's war" Said Lt. Gen. Mitchell.

Scott Mitchell, of Youngstown, Ohio, 42, was one of the most influential and respected military commanders of U.S. armed forces. This is for two reasons: firstly because he was the head of the JSF, the most lethal armed force of the United States, and secondly, because of his past: Mitchell was one of the first commanders of the ghost teams, which were part of what was then called "spectral warfare program", and had climbed the ranks to become its commander in the same year of the election of Becerra. Mitchell, relying on POTUS military past, had convinced him to finance the creation of the Joint Strike Force. The program was expensive, yes, but the President had immediately realized the benefits of the new unit into the crisis in South America and Southeast Asia. Mitchell was generally a calm guy, but he was right to say what he had said. It was an attack on America, and those responsible were going to be punished.

"Calm down, general" said Admiral James Nakamura, USN's chief of naval operations "We must not be hasty: a declaration of war now could only put us in danger"

"With all due respect sir, I think we are just wasting time, we should mobilize immediately and avenge those forty dead"

"Carlos?" asked Nakamura.

Captain Carlos Santiago was a former Navy SEAL, who with over 30 years of experience behind him, was the vice of the admiral "Gentlemen, we have investigated this possibility since 2018, and, together with CENTCOM we came to the conclusion that we should wait a few days for mobilize the reserves and prepare to resist to a hypothetical enemy attack, while launching the counterattack. Details are now being transferred on your data pads. "

The room fell silent as everyone read the files of the Navy. The first to speak was General Williams, army's chief of staff: " Well, I must admit that it is an extremely good and well thought out plan, I'm surprised, but the Europeans will really do this? , And the Russians? Nobody has considered them, although I think they wouldn't bother us, since it has nothing to do, in fact, at best, they might even help us. "

Admiral Nakamura seemed satisfied " Aaron, believe me, we know the Europeans, they will behave exactly like that, but for the Russians, as you said, we shouldn't worry. We know our pals and in case of problems, we also have a plan for them. "

THE KREMLIN , MOSCOW , RUSSIA , 04.12.2020 19:43

"Izotov "

"I guess you've seen, General "

" Yes, General "

"And the president ? "

" Kapalkin expressed his deepest condolences to President Becerra and refuses to talk to Pérreau "

"He's smart '

" He does what we say"

"Sounds good to me, however, meet me in an hour at the usual place to agree on the details of the operation 1000"

"Sure, I'll be there "

"Don't bring anyone, not even Noskov "

" It 's so secret ? "

"More secret than the emergency meetings in Paris and Washington DC"

Sergei Izotov was paralyzed for a few seconds "_How does he know that there are meetings of high importance in Paris and Washington? GRU only knows, and he is not the GRU "_

"General? "

"Yes, I'm still here "

"I wanted to thank you for the forces you have granted us for the operation 999"

" Thank you, but I do not think it is appropriate to talk about iton the phone "

"You're right, ah, do me a favor, put under surveillance colonel Pavel Doletskaya, he's putting his nose into matters that do not interest him "

" But he's is loyal to Russia!" Protested Izotov .

" General, if he finds out that Snegurochka is still alive and he tries to contact her, she's dead, and then I did not say eliminate, distract him with something "

"I understand General"

" Well, now we just have to wait until one of the two make the first move "

" And decide the details "

"I fully expect the President to approve our plan "

" He will "

"Remember, while the two boys bicker, the third one enjoys what they had forgotten. In our case, eastern Europe and much more: glory. Dasvidania Izotov "

"Goodbye General"

Izotov putted down the phone and breathed slowly for a few seconds. He often did it when he was confused, to collect his thoughts. The operation in Rovaniemi had been a success, although a bit noisy. But the goal was reached. A virus created by the best Hacker of the Motherland was able to give them access to a satellite of the European Federation to use against the Freedom IV, to trigger an escalation and in 98% of cases, war. Izotov and his partner, Dimitri Zubov, referred to as "General", together with a large share of Russian military personnel believed that the two western countries would soon ally against them, and then it would be the end. Russia was preparing for war since 2014, and it's preparation will be tested in the next days. Now he just had to trust in the ability of Russian leaders and pray for the victory of the motherland. "No" he said, "we won't lose"

" Noskov" He called out on the intercom "Come here "

The massive mahogany doors slid open, revealing the figure of Major Alexei Noskov, former Spetsnaz and personal assistant to general Izotov. Noskov was a lieutenant in Chechnya, during the crisis of 2012 , all shelved by the valid elements of the GRU, where he had created a special unit to hunt down the rebel leaders. Unfortunately for him, a few days before the end of the operations, during a fight he stuck a metal shrapnel in the left leg, which prevented him from fighting, relegating him to a desk job. Izotov had chosen him because it had a tendency to trust former Spetsnaz , he having been part of the unit, while in the old URSS, and had served in Afghanistan, earning a reputation equal to that of Scott Mitchell, the legendary commander of the first ghost team. But he had chosen him for another reason: he could keep a secret, and, moreover, he was a great planner. He had devised the operation in Finland, thanks to data received from Zubov and had been a success: it was all about him if they were in that position. The general thought that once everything was over, he would suggest him for a promotion.

"You wanted to see me, General? "

"Prepare the car, I have an errand "

"I can do it Sir "

" No, it's personal "

" I provide immediately General"

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So, here we go with the prologue of my Endwar story; it's going to cover all the war from multiple POVs, especially the European one; sorry if my English isn't perfect, but it isn't my first language.

Read and Review please!


	2. First Thoughts

Aaaand now the second part of chapter one. They are still discussing their strategies and thinking of their forces, but the Colonel and the President will have a moment to think about their relationship

Read and Review Please

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CHAPTER 1

EFECCOM , PARIS, FRANCE, 12/04/2020 18:45

" So you're telling me that it was one of our lasers to destroy the Freedom IV? "

"Yes, madame" replied Fouquet .

"But how is that possible? Thought they were controlled by command EUROPA, and I certainly have not authorized an attack "

"No one doubts madame, but now we have to analyze the situation and decide our next move, " continued Dvorak " I suggest to offer our most sincere apologies to president Becerra and tell him you do not yet know the chain of events. Ramez was already in DC to congratulate with Becerra for the space shuttle launch: he will only have to change the subject of the conversation "

Everyone fell silent, just a passing thought in the mind of all: war.

"Colonel Germini, what do you think ? "

"Madame, Americans are most likely holed up at the Pentagon to discuss their strategy for the next two or maybe three days, I fear that their declaration of war is inevitable, but they will come into full mobilization within 8-9 days, so we'll have time to prepare a defense. General? "

"The army needs a week for a mobilization to 60% and by doing so we will have the resources to defend Europe and perhaps fight back. Going to be a war of attrition, probably. The winner will be who better withstand the weight of the war."

" And the Russians? "

"Madame" Said the admiral "It's an event to which we are prepared. I'll give orders to immediately mobilize forces for a possible attack from the east "

"Yes, but who will defend the Federation for the next two days? And the capital?"

" The Enforcer Corps will do, as for Paris, the 45th Tactical is already stationed outside the town, so it's up to Germini" thundered De Bankole, catching the colonel off guard.

"Are you sure, General? "

"We trained for this madame "

" Well, then I declare the session ended. everyone do what has been agreed. Colonel Germini, as the defense of Paris will be up to you, I wish to confer privately with you. Everyone else, dismissed "

The soldiers snapped to attention and went out in a row, followed by their attendants.

" Ilaria? "

"Sir? "

"Go to major Fleisher and tell him to mobilize men, TORPEDO plan. I will come back to the HQ as soon as I've finished. Take my staff car, I'll take another ride"

" Yes, sir "

Said this, she went out of the room .

The doors closed.

The woman got up from her chair and walked over to the Colonel. The only noise you could hear in the room was that caused by her heels, increasing the discomfort of the colonel. She took the chair next to his .

"Madame President"

" Andrea did you know you can call me as you like when we are alone? "

" The conversations are recorded "

"No one will know about it. Clear?"

" Yes, madame "

He relaxed . The tension broke in an instant : although this was a difficult situation, the tone of his commander left to indicate that they were no longer president and officer under her command . Now they were friends, so he could speak freely.

"What do you think? "

"It 's from Copenhagen I think that something is going to happen, something big. I have a great fear that the situation will degenerate quickly. Now I'm going to tell him something: when I was a kid I loved reading a book on airplanes, made me feel comfortable, made me dream , but a sentence in particular made me think. It said "the U.S. has felt the need to invest in new air superiority fighters to counter the modern Russian Sukhoi and even the current Eurofighter of their actual European allies, _if the story takes an unexpected turn_ " He putted emphasis last sentence and Nathalie knew where he was getting. She finished the sentence for him " And that unexpected turn has come "

"That's right, and we're right in the middle. I see that you still wear it"

"Do you remember what you said when you gave it to me? "

" How to forget it? _Focus. Control. Conviction, never forget that these are the fundamental values of a true politician_. I guess that that necklace didn't make you forget it "

"Yes. It helped me a lot "

She looked at the bracelet around her right wrist. Andrea had given it to her the last time he saw she, at Charles De Gaulle airport , 14 years ago. He was transferred to Afghanistan with the rank of captain and was about to embark. were 20.30. She remembered the last minutes they had together.

CHARLES DE GAULLE AIRPORT , PARIS, FRANCE, 9/10/2006 20:30

" Nathalie, you have transformed the twelve-month of probable torture in the most beautiful of my life. Know that I will never forget. I got you this, I know you like this style of bracelets. Whenever you put, it will gude you. Focus. Control. Conviction, never forget that these are the fundamental values of a true politician"

" Andrea, I, I do not know what to say... not to mention that I have nothing for you, I didn't expected a present " The emotion was going to make her cry. She had to break one of the few people that meant something special for her until that time because of their belonging to different countries. There vowed that she would do anything to create a united Europe to prevent other couples in their situation.

"I don't need you to give me something material, You've already given me one of the few things that cannot be bought. I'll always remember "

She nodded, unable to utter a word .

"Goodbye, Nathalie, my country calls me "

" _Adieu_. Andrea will never forget you "

Having said that hugged her, kissed her on the forehead and whispered, " I wish you the best of luck" then turned around, went to check in, he gave the tickets and went away.

The woman stayed at the airport until his flight has departed, to greet the last time her lieutenant. When she exited from the airport was a different person. She was starting to becoming what she is today.

EFECCOM, PARIS, FRANCE, 12/04/2020 18:52

"I'm scared"

" All we are, Madame "

"It 's a challenge too difficult for me, I could not bear the stress"

" Pherhaps you're worried to have white hair before the time? "

" Stop it" she laughed

"You know that I never give up my attitude. Don't worry, Europe will follow you and, besides, we have fought for too long to give up what we have gained "

"I wish everyone thought like you "

"You'll see that in less than a week they will "

"Do you remember that 14 years ago that I hadn't a gift for you?"

"I do"

" Now I want to remedy" She rose from her chair and walked over to a bag had been left there by one of her adjutants, leaned on it and opened it. Andrea did not dare to think what it might consist of the gift, but he still hoped that she remembered his tastes. She pulled out a blue box and returned to him.

"Open it "

Germini opened the box and was fascinated at the sight of the content. Two silver stars, one for each side of the collar.

"Congratulations, Brigadier General Germini " She told he, as she removed the five squares, symbol of the colonel rank, from his shoulders.

"Madame?" he mumbled, " I do not understand the reason for my promotion "

" Amadou has insisted on this. You're one of the best, indeed, in his opinion the best. So, what do you think?"

'' It's best gift that I receive since my 18 years" he said , full of excitement, as he put in place the stars on the collar of his ADU.

" Now I think I'm expected to HQ. Goodbye Nathalie "

He stood up, slammed his heels, saluted and left the room.

He wasn't so happy since the end of the academy.

ANDREWS AFB, MARYLAND, USA 12/04/2020 20:23

Scott Mitchell saw it bad many times. In Korea, Mexico, China and many other places in the Middle East, but there he was just a soldier following orders, now he had to give them. When he proposed the JSF program he knew that something big was going to happen, and he was right. It was up to him to prepare the opening moves of the war and was waiting for a report of Fourth Echelon delayed of about, looked at his watch, thirteen minutes. He did not trust a lot the spies, he knew they could be wrong, and had tried it on his own skin.

There was a knock at the door.

"General Mitchell? "

"Come in, Dennison " The door opened, revealing the outline of major Alice Dennison, assistant of General Mitchell.

"Sir, the report of Fourth Echelon "

"Thank you major, you can leave it on the table "

She leaned it against it, saluted and went out. Mitchell put his hands in the relation and began to read it. It did not take long to realize that it was more detailed than the one put on by the CIA. " _Well, well, well Fisher trained well his agents, let 's see_ " The report indicated the position of the main European forces. Mitchell reflected mentally " _So the bulk of the forces is concentrated in eastern Europe, but there are quotas both in Portugal and in southern Italy. Their mobilization should be complete in a week, since they keep 20% of reservists always active. But the most serious threat is represented by their Enforcer Corps. I've seen what they can do, those bastards, and they can do it damn well. It's not surprising that most of their leaders are former operators of Rainbow, with tactics that are used by their men and their extraordinary ability in urban combat. Nothing that my boys can not deal with, however,_ " He got up from his chair and walked over to the cabinet where he kept the stain of coffee. He poured himself a cup and went to the window. He pulled the blinds. It was dark and there was a light rain. two F/A-20 Razorback, the stealth ( and multi-role ) substitutes of the A-10, were taxiing on the second runway. " _The first flight of the night_" Thought Scott. Andrews was the main JSF airbase throughout the east coast since 2019, when the new elite force had left Grissom in search of a new air base. " _We have been preparing for years for this eventuality. A war with our old European allies , and probably even a clash with Russia. Nakamura and his lackeys could write whatever they wanted in the relationship, but it certainly did not understand something, or rather someone: the Russians _" He hated to think about these things, made him come nostalgia for the old days when his superiors were thinking about it. He just performed. He missed being able to consult frankly with his subordinates. He remembered Lieutenant Jose "Joe" Ramirez, an old friend, with whom he took part in the most difficult operations in the history of the Ghost team. When he had proposed him to become a CO of the JSF he had refused, stating that it would be too big a responsibility for him. He remembered when he made his proposal " _Joe , I think you should accept a promotion to colonel. I'm Seeking the best, and you are among the ones I want in my team"_ "_Scott, it's a too big responsibility for me, and, in the long run, it will be for you_" Not even Jesus Christ had uttered holiest words .

He looked at the time , the 20:43 .

"_Shit_ "Kristin would have killed him for being late again for dinner.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 12/04/2020 20:43

Sergei Izotov was sitting on the bench for ten minutes. He looked at his watch. 20:43:07 .

"You're late "

"Sorry, complications in the office "

" It seems a little bit exposed here "

" Who would be interested in two old in a park? We will pass as two old friends who meet to recall the old days"

"You are less cautious"

"Russia no longer has ears everywhere, not in our case anyway"

"Explain "

" Currently 6 FSB agents at my service are overseeing the park "

" I thought you were of the SVR "

"Even "

_"Strange"_

"We've lost too much time, then, tell me everything "

"Operation 1000 will proceed as planned" He handed him a pen drive "My contacts in Washington and Paris confirm that in the next two to three days something big will happen. Mobilization is expected to total over a period of time between one and two weeks. Our people ? "

"90% is ready, just give us the signal and we will start a raid in Washington DC and invade the EF "

"Great. Everything you need to know is on that pen drive. Not to mention that it's highli confidential and you must not show it to anyone except for yourself, but I think that you understood it already. Good luck, General. May god be with us. Dasvidania Sergei"

" You, too, Dimitri. Dasvidania"

Sergei Izotov rose from the bench and walked towards one of the exits of the park. It was 21:14 , he would have returned home late once again. The lots of work of that week were killing him and stressing his wife, who was often awakened by his returning home in the middle of the night. After leaving the park he headed to his staff car, parked nearby with the engine just switched on from Igor, the driver, plus former Spetsnaz. He noticed a man dressed in a black coat with grey trousers who was heading towards him from the left. He stopped.

"Sergei Izotov?" he asked, with a tone of authority.

" Who wants to know? "

" SVR "

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Wow, The Colonel is now the General and Scott Mitchell thinks that would be a walk in the park win the war with the EF. We'll see. And SVR wants to talk with Izotov. Bad thing

Stay tuned for chapter 2. First action will came around chapters 4-5

Please Review


	3. Preparations

Chapter 2: Preparations

In this chapter i wanted to introduce some major European characters, but don't worry, some others will be introduced when needed. Other factions personnel will be introduced when we'll need.

I just wanted to thanks Just a Crazy-Man for the first feedback and reviews, thanks man!

R&R folks!

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EFEC HQ (CODENAME "ALPHA BASE") PARIS OUTSKIRTS, FRANCE, EF 13/04/2020 08:00

Sergeant Rainer Beckenbauer had enlisted in the Bundeswehr at the age of 18, seeing it as the best opportunity for the future, not that he had others. Anyway, over the years he has adapted to military life, coming to regard it as the right one for his life. in 2019 he had applied for the Enforcers Corps, and was transferred to the newly formed 45th Batallion (tactical) few days prior to the operation in Guyana where he earned his rank in the dangerous rainforests. He was one of the members of the 1st platoon, codenamed Saber, with more combat experience and, were it not that he had refused a promotion to platoon sergeant believing that Francois Lorraine fitted it better, he would now be 1-2, the second in command of Lieutenant Laroche. But he was fine.

He was heading with his team, "Saber 2", to the ammunition depot of the base, as they had been instructed by Captain Fernández to recover ammunition and heavy weapons for the whole platoon. A mission that would take them busy throughout the day, even with the help of the depot staff. Behind him followed his team: Saber 2-2, Corporal Dimitriev, Saber 2-3, PFC Altman, Saber 2-4, PFC Fosse and the last to arrive, Saber 2-5, PFC Bianchi.

"Sergeant Beckenbauer!" A voice called him.

When he turned, he saw another sergeant, but a logistic one, calling him from the main entrance of the depot where there were some trucks which were being loaded by the warehouse staff. Beckenbauer answered the man while coming closer to him "Reporting for duty. I assume that you're already informed on our orders?"

"If I wouldn't, why those trucks are being loaded right now? Anyway, I think that there is still some other material that has not been loaded on the trucks and probably you're going to need another one to do the job"

"Bianchi, you heard him! Go to the motor pool and get us a truck!"

"Sir, yes sir!" Bianchi saluted and sprinted towards the motor pool.

"Now you only have to load those boxes on that truck. If you need me, I'll be in my office" After saying that he saluted and returned to the right side of the depot, where he opened a small service door and behind the whom he disappeared.

"Dimitriev, Fosse, you take the left side of the building. Altman, you're with me, we take the right side. All right?"

They nodded.

"Good, let's go"

They divided in two groups and began to look for what the captain had asked them.

"Sergeant, where do you believe that the Americans will come?"

"I do not know, Altman, but if they arrive, we will make them regret coming"

The sergeant walked to a case of JO-2 sniper rifles, grabbed one and threw it to Altman "New toys for you it seems. So?"

"JO-2 caliber 12.7 mm produced by H&K in February 2020. Equipped with a POLARIS scope able to locate, and shoot down, targets up to 2 km with a extreme piercing capacity, able to stop a rhino. Factory built with a blue high intensity laser to improve the accuracy and stun enemies. projectile speed of 940 m / s, 10 round magazine, semi-auto. Nice "

"Glad you like it" He grabbed the gun, putted it back in the crate with the other and pulled it up "Come on, those boxes of magazines will not go away by themselves"

"Yes, sir" said this, he took the handles of two boxes of ammunition and followed his boss to the entrance.

Meanwhile Dimitriev and Fosse were heading towards the left side of the ammunition depot of the 45th EFEC battalion, where there was some special equipment. Obviously, assault rifles and other weapons were at the armory, they had only had to recover some new stuff, like sixteen JO-2 rifles, thirty two MILANA-2 rocket launchers, sixteen team tasers and the new body armor, arrived just last night, but for those they would need additional help from the staff.

"Corporal, check it out"

"What's it Fosse?"

"Am I wrong or these are not the usual A-4 grenades?" he said, showing a blue bead with a black button on the side

"They look like Covenant plasma grenades "

"I did not think we were in 2500"

"Future is now, as they say. Look at the top of the box. What does it say?"

He jumped on top of a crate of ammunition and looked at the markings on the upper part, and read.

"EMP Grenades? What are they?"

"Those who fry electronic devices, boy. Definitely for those grenadier wankers"

"Well, I grab some, just in case" He said that as he slipped on a pair in the pocket of his uniform and went down.

"Let's go, we need to recover a bit of MILAN"

"We hope that Bianchi has recovered a truck, I don't want to walk with those things."

One hour after all the necessary equipment had been dismantled and putted on the trucks. They had to make multiple trips to retrieve the equipment but in the end they were successful. Now it was up to the armor: They would put two corsages on a trolley and they would have pushed it. It would take three hours to find them among the crates, open them, make balanced packages for each cart and take them out, the problem was that they did not have so much time as they had to finish for 12.00 to be ready for training in the afternoon. They decided that they needed a hand, but the other teams were engaged in the morning training.

"Now how do we do?" asked Fosse.

"We ask the grenadiers"

"Are you crazy? They'll never help"

"Not without the right motivation. Let's go"

They headed towards the barracks of the grenadiers. Surely they had nothing to do, since their training was in the morning from 04.00 to 08.00, then surely they would have found time for a little healthy competition between units. The sergeant came into the barracks.

"Fifteen seconds"

"Ten"

"Ten Euros that he do it in seven"

"Agreed"

"One,two,three, four, five, six, seve .."

The sergeant came out behind with two teams of grenadiers, who headed with them to the warehouse.

"I told you" Said Bianchi.

"Save your breath" Ordered the sergeant "Those crates are pretty heavy"

Once they were outside the depot, Beckenbauer explained the rules "So, who delivers every crate in his sector as soon as possible wins. I'm going to take the middle sector, squad one the right side and squad three the left one. All right?"

"Yes sir"

"Good. Let's begin"

At the fixed signal they all began to run where there were the boxes containing the protections. They came and tried to quickly find them.

"A box per head, move"

"But what about the carts?"

"They'll just slow us down, come on!"

All took a crate, and began to run towards the entrance.

Two hours later, all the boxes were packed and ready to go to the armory, where soldiers would have found them ready for the exercises in the afternoon. The armor of the Enforcer Corps is a jewel of technology: made of kevlar and steel, eight cm thick in the body, with shin pads, to put trousers in, collars for the pelvis, shoulder pauldrons in a style that reminded aincent Roman soldiers armor, helmet with cross com and forearms armor made in a "L" lying on the long side style. The armor of the grenadiers, although similar, was equipped with a laptop attached to the chest, which allowed the soldier to have all the information available to better prepare for a combat action or defense. Unlike their American counterparts, the pioneers, the grenadiers did not need an external exoskeleton to carry the missile launcher MILANA-2, due to the lightness of the weapon, in comparison to the Americans Javelin-2.

"Alarm, alarm, Order 34-27: All units are to get their equipment and gather combat-ready in their respective assembly points within 20 minutes"

Even before he had finished saying 27, the first Enforcers were already pouring in the armory to take their new personal armor.

RAMSTEIN AFB, GERMANY, EF 04/13/2020 14:00

"Major! Major Kellerman?"

Major Max Kellerman, or "Tempest 1" took his leave from the mechanic he was talking and turned to the voice. It belonged to captain Francisco Cortes, AKA "Tempest 2". Cortes was an ex SPAF pilot with a lot of combat experience, thanks to EUFOR deployments in the past before the Federation to quell rebellions in hot areas of the world. He spoke with a Spanish accent, but since English wasn't the main language in Europe it was comprehensible, since everyone had one. After the unification of the armies he was assigned to the 19th TFS of the 6th FW 4th Air Division, stationed in Germany.

"What is it Cortes?"

"Colonel Larsen wants all pilots in the briefing room"

"What are we waiting for then? Do you know why the General convened the briefing?" Kellerman tried to gather some information from his wingman

"I guess it has something to do with the press arrived yesterday from Paris. That damn paper prevented me from watching the football match between Real Madrid and Bayern Munchen. I hope that the Real won the match"

"No one beats the Bayern. Couldn't you just surf the net to find out the winner?"

"And here cames the strange part. All non military networks have been shut down by the government for all day and are scheduled to resume their functions at 18.00"

"Strange" He remembered last night...

He was in the room with other crew members of the various squadrons stationed at Ramstein to watch the football game broadcasted by Euro 2. It was the 65th minute when the deputy commander of the base into the room by ordering off the TV and get in early warning "And fast" he added.

Max had approached him "What is it sir?"

"Just arrived from HQ" He handed him a sheet of paper "Read it"

Kellerman read it.

"It cannot be serious"

"It is, instead. Move, there's no time to waste!"

His memories left him when they arrived at building n°3, where was the briefing room.

"Colonel" They both saluted once they entered the room

"Welcome major, sit down, you too, captain"

They sat close to other members of the squadron: number three, lieutenant Fontaine, Belgian and number four , Szydek, Czechoslovakian.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen," The colonel began "The situation is serious. Pending further orders, the entire unit is transferred in France, in a base near Paris"

"Sir, there isn't already an air force unit in charge of the defense of the capital?" Asked someone from the back.

"Yes, but since last night's communicate, all units are to be ready for action in any time and HQ decided to reinforce Paris garrison with additional fighters. Let's get started with the briefing. Captain"

The lights went out and the projector above the seats turned on and started to send images taken by satellites orbiting the Atlantic.

"Now, gentlemen, I intend to publish this document sent to me by HQ a few minutes ago, we are at war. U.S. ambassador has already made the declaration to the government and is being repatriated now. President Becerra and president Pérreau will make the announce to their respective countries with a press release tonight at 1800 "

The screen began as images of white trails in the midst of the sea. Everyone knew what they were, and they were terrified.

"The second U.S. fleet is about to join the Third Fleet and to begin hostile operations against Europe. Our sources in DC tells us that there will be a raid on Paris by the American forces, while a preventive attack on Moscow will be implemented in the next 48 hours, since it seems that they are making plans to attack the Federation. Anyway, our unit was transferred to the capital to strengthen local defenses and assist Enforcers in the area to repel the Yankee attack . The command is also expected an invasion from Portugal, but that will happen in a week, so there's no real need to worry about it for us. Next"

The screen now displayed a tactical analysis of enemy ground forces.

"The enemies in the ground will be the usual regular units of the USMC and the JSF, nothing special, but attention to AAA Strykers and M190s. Infantry should not be able to have a lock on an aircraft flying at Mach 2. Missiles, lasers and bombs should make short work of them, should the ground forces need help. Now something more interesting. Next "

The screen changed from ground forces images to 3D renders of enemy fighter aircrafts.

"We will have to do with the Navy here, expect Super Hornets, Hornet Is, F-35s and F-14H " Hyper Tomcat"s; They're all at the same level of our fighters, but do not underestimate them. Pilots of the U.S. Navy are among the best in the world "

"Sir, what about American bases in England? Could not deploy F-15S or F-16s?"

"There is the possibility of this, yes, but it's not our concern: at the end of the declaration of war by the Americans a flight of EB-100 will drop penetration bombs on their bases in southern England, with the aim of destroying the runway and destroy as many planes as possible in preparation for the invasion of Britain. Anyway there is the possibility that the Americans would send planes from their continental bases and have them refueling on the ocean but the order won't be likely given, because even after a flight of 8 hours I wonder what kind of performance can give them. Well gentlemen, the orders are given. get to your equipment and take off for Paris. Dismissed! "

The lights returned on and the pilots slowly got up from their chairs, headed for the exit.

An hour later the skies of southern Germany were dissected from 6th FW.

COPENHAGEN NAVAL BASE, DENMARK, EF 04/13/2020 15:00

For Vice Admiral Denise Longhi the day started like so many others: wake up, shower, breakfast, dressing, half an hour by car to reach the base, identification, parking, entrance in the building of ENI (European Naval Intelligence), greetings to her subordinates and then work. The same could not be said of the afternoon, however: she had received a message from one of her agents from Norfolk informing her that the second and third American fleet were on their way to launch an attack on Paris, so she had had to contact command EUROPA, and send them all informations, so that they could take action. Sometimes she loved her job, but others she hated. Today was one of those days: it was only 15.00 and she was more stressed out now than after a week of work. She closed her eyes for a moment, entering a zen trance, which helped her to stay focus.

The phone rang

"_Please no_" She mentally said.

She answered.

"Vice-Admiral Longhi"

"Madame"

" Colonel Germini, what do I owe this call?"

"Brigadier General Germini if you do not mind"

"Ah, promoted?"

"Yes, it was time"

She laughed. She didn't often hear Germini. The two had met through mutual friends in during the lyceum and entered immediately in tune. This happened 23 years ago for her and 22 for him. Unbeknownst to her, Andrea considered her one of the most reliable people he knows.

"However, article two comma three of the military law has been issued"

Comma three meant that all the armed forces fell under the control of the command EUROPA, central command, and stopped responding to their respective commands, and that EUROPA would became the assembly of all commands. For example: if ENI ordered to sink a ship but EUROPA said don't, the agent had to abort the mission. Carrying out ENI orders would result in the agent being sent to a military court.

"I received orders to prepare for the defense of Paris, and I am gathering information from various intelligence agencies. I haven't yet received yours, Vice-Admiral, so I'd like to have them"

"Of course, general, I am transferring the data to your command center. Is it everything?"

"Yes, Have a nice day Denise, because I won't"

He hung up.

_"He never changes. That military attitude won't get him so far with social relations, even if he managed to impressing things. He will never change"_ She thought.

EFEC 45th BATTALLION MOBILE HQ,PARIS OUTSKIRTS, FRANCE, EF 04/13/2020 17.00

General Germini pressed the blue button on the left side of the holotable, making appear a three-dimensional map of Paris, where there were marked in blue the positions occupied by his men.

"In blue you can see the various checkpoints and outposts created by the Enforcers and the few regular troops at our disposal to defend the city. We have established an advanced HQ at Touileries gardens, also designated as a landing zone alpha" On the table the position was marked with a large blue A "Our job is to protect the city from the enemy attackers. We know that they are too few to establish a permanent presence in the urban area, but if they defeat us it will be a huge blow to the morale of the troops of Europe, but most important, they will have access to confidential data if they manage to take control of some government buildings, such as ENI's local command " Some areas, indicated by the general, were painted gray, indicating the priority areas to defend. He looked at his subordinates: to the right of the captain Cimino, his attendant and right arm, the newly promoted Colonel Fleisher, his second in command and best friend in the unit, and the captains Fernández, Dupont, Marrone, Stier, Ivanoff and Sokov, respectively commanders of his Kommando , Grenadiers, transport, tank, artillery and helicopter units.

"Sir, what do we know of the enemy forces?" asked Sokov.

"The enemies are going to be regular units of the USMC, along with a battalion of the JSF. Surely there will have air support, at least the one that will be able to pass through our anti-aircraft fire. Returning to the opposing units, expect the usual stuff for the marines, as M1A2 tanks , LAVs, HUMVEEs, riflemen and engineers. Too much heavy equipment won't be brought to the battlefield, so Cobras and Bradley are out of the question, the same goes for Paladin howitzers. expect everything from the JSF: Schwarzkopf tanks, Fastback IFVs, Spartan howitzers and AH-80 helicopters, in addition to the usual Ghosts and Pioneers "

"Are we going to have some mission support sir?" Asked Marrone.

"Troop Command EUROPA confirmed the presence of regular units of the army in support of the EC, then we will be able to call in infantry and armor reinforcements, maybe even some helicopters. The aviation will be present for the duration of the battle, so feel free to call in an air strike if the air is heavy "

"What's our defense plan sir?" Fernández asked.

"The plan is this: We establish a defensive perimeter around the center, so that it includes the Elysee, the parliament and the military HQs. I want checkpoints at every intersection and highway, composed of regular troops. The EC will control the city and command centers. I want rapid reaction forces composed of a unit of transports, tanks and artillery. Helicopters will fly over the area and will provide support if required, otherwise they will try to find and eliminate enemy armored units and artillery. Clear? "

They nodded.

Suddenly, the door opened, and an MP entered.

"Sir, the speech is about to begin"

"Thank you sergeant, ladies and gentlemen, do we want to go?"

The room emptied quickly and everyone flocked to the big screen inside the mobile command "Charlemagne", code-named "Verdi"

ELYSEE, PARIS, FRANCE, EF 04/13/2020 17:50

"Madame, shall we go?"

"Just a minute Jean"

The door closed.

Nathalie Pérreau had prepared yesterday for that evening. She was ready. After all, she had already given news to the press, but today was different. To tell a country that it was about to go to war with one another, which was globally recognized as the one with the strongest military of the world, was not a every day thing. Normally she was a calm person, but now, she felt agitated.

She inhaled and exhaled slowly.

She clenched her fist on the bracelet on her wirst.

_"Focus, control, conviction. You lack none of these skills. Showtime then I guess. Stay strong"_

She exited the dressing room

"Let's go"

They walked along the corridor. There where she and her four personal guards of the presidential security service, two men and two women, recruited from the best agents of the European intelligence agencies, who now had to ensure the safety of the president.

They went into the press room and immediately began the flash of cameras. She imagined what would think journalists of her completely black outfit. "_What happened is something serious? _"She was sure that these were their thoughts. She wondered if her family and friends were watching her, they were so happpy for her election, two years ago... she wondered if Andrea was watching her too, but she knew that Europe was watching her. She climbed onto the stage and walked to her podium, already prepared with the speech and microphones. Behind her settled some politicians and military commanders. "_Who is not stupid would have understood by now_" she thought.

She putted the microphones in place and began to speak.

"Today" She began "It's a very sad day for Europe. 26 hours ago the Freedom IV caught fire over the JFK Space Center, due to a shot of a direct energy weapon. We do not yet know the dynamics of the incident but we know that it was one of our weapons" She had expected exclamations of amazement from the audience, but no one did. They must have read the foreign newspapers or knew since yesterday that the weapon was theirs. "The American President" She continued "refused our offer to conduct joint investigations into the incident stating that" _it is not our intention to find out what we already know._ " Today I received from the American ambassador in Paris a formal declaration of war, signed by the President and the U.S. Congress " Noises of despair arose from the audience "America is making two mistakes: not continue the investigation to find out who really wanted to kill forty American lives and accusing Europe of something it did not commit. As Julius Caesar said, Alea Jacta Est, The die is cast. We are ready to act, we will not surrender without a fight, We are not afraid of American imperialism, who accuses us of something that we have not committed. But we didn't want this war. This is a turning point. Our survival depends on this war. We know that it won't be easy, but loosing it would mean that more than two thousand years of wars and bloodshed in the name of our unification were turly useless. In just sixty years we managed to overcome our differences and unite. We are Europeans. We invented war. They won't stop us. We hadn't begun this war, but we will win it!"

People in front and behind her, broke into a thunderous applause.

The reaction of her countrymen filled her with joy. Certainly the foreign TV expected something bad, such as disapproval or other. But no, not today.

Europe was really ready.

"_Andrea was right_" she thought.

She had never been so happy.

FORT CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY, USA 04/13/2020 18.15

"_Shit_" thought Scott Mitchell "_it will not be easy then_" He turned off the TV and slumped in his chair.

"_You were right Joe, it will be damn hard_"

The phone rang. He picked up the phone "General Mitchell"

"General, you know who I am?"

"Mr. President!" Scott snapped to attention even if his partner was not physically in front of him.

"At ease soldier. Alfa plan is approved. May God be with us"

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And here we finish with chapter 2

Stay tuned up for the upcoming battle of Paris and the bloodsheds in Portugal, Ukraine and the Atlantic Ocean. The war is officially started; who will win?

Sorry for the lack of the Russians, but it's necessary to create some suspense

R&R please.


	4. Contact

Hello everyone! Sorry for the retard but I was really busy. here we're going to see the first act of the battle of Paris. R&R Please!

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EFS PRAGUE, ATHENES CLASS SUBMARINE SSN-18, 400 KM WEST OF LISBOA, ATLANTIC OCEAN 04/14/2020 03:00

Captain Jakob Mueller, 44, of Cologne, Germany, was enjoying one of the few moments of calm that would have been from that week onwards. He had orders to report any movement of any American ship since nine hours ago, but the _Prague_ had not yet had a chance to find some, unlike other submarines that had reported the movement of some American freighters, but nothing as big as a fleet.

Maybe the big shot would have to wait a little longer .

ENI had issued a statement in which claimed that the second and third American fleet were to gather somewhere in the Atlantic, to advance towards Europe and then split into two groups: one would go to the south and would prepare for the invasion of Portugal, far from the coastal defense network and from the first and second European fleets stationed near Gibraltar Strait , scheduled to begin in a week, given that they had to wait for support ships carrying troops and equipment. The other one would proceed to the Bay of Biscay to get in position for an attack on Paris with the JSF, but exposing itself to a very great risk: they were within range of the fighters of the 3rd European fleet, and the fleet itself, stationed in Brest, Brittany, not to mention the twenty submarines of the federation on their trail, the 2nd Air Division stationed in France and the coastal defense network emplacements, but the Yankees were ready for any risk to avenge the death of their forty compatriots.

"Captain! I have something"

PO2 Juan Delgado, the sonar operator, was calling him.

"_Please be true_" He prayed mentally while walking to the sonar console.

"Sir, I'm picking up noise, and much"

"Do you think that might be the American fleet?"

"Probable sir. This noise is enough to belong to thirty, maybe forty ships"

The tension in the control room of the _Prague_ skyrocketed in less than thirty seconds. They had found the enemy fleet. But there remained a problem. They had to pass the intelligence to ENI and EIA, and perhaps use active sonar to have a precise idea of the number of enemy ships. But both put at risk the vessel: transmit meant to go up to periscope to raise the antennas and surely be discovered by the Americans. Going active would reveal its position to the American ships, then being hunted and perhaps sunk . Whatever was their choice, these were the risks.

"_Well_" thought the captain, "_It will end badly anyway, so I would say to send the coordinates_"

"Inversion, vector 354, maximum power to the hydrogen engines. Vaccani, take us away from the enemy fleet, silently, and then go up to periscope. Communications, prepare to send message to Naval Command EUROPA and ENI"

"Vector 354, hydrogen engine maximum power, Prepare a message for ENI and NCEUROPA" repeated his XO.

"Aye sir!" Confirmed Lt. Vaccani, the navigation officer and the comms officers.

The submarine began imperceptibly to turn around to go back. The heart pounding a thousand inside the captain's chest. His grandfather had been the commander of a U-boote during the Second World War and found himself many times in situations like his. But he had the order to attack allied ships, while he did not. And then those were other times.

Once they where a couple of miles away, the submarine rose to periscope and raised the antennas for long-range transmissions, sending the message to Copenhagen and Paris at the same time. The message said "Wolf 7 found flocks one and two, bearing 031. S3 bingo two miles"

"Message sent Captain" Confirmed the comms officer.

"Good, stand still for a couple of minutes to see if there is an answer"

"Aye"

"Sir, the sonar is picking up a signature at three minutes from us!"

"Above or below the surface?"

"Under! It's shooting! Torpedoes!"

"Rapid immersion, all hands to battle stations, move!"

The room turned red while all clung to emergency handles to cushion the shock of the fast dive.

"All hands to battle stations, all hands to battle stations, it is not an drill, I repeat, this is not a drill!" Repeated frantically his XO.

"Unhook sonar baits"

"Sonar baits dropped, sir"

They waited. They could not do anything but pray that the torpedo was or one of the traditional ones, or that even if he had a sonar location system it would prefer the baits to them.

"10 seconds to impact"

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5.4, impact, now!"

Everyone held their breath.

BALTIC FLEET BASE, ENI HQ, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, EF 14/04/2020 03:50

Admiral Longhi had a bad day. She had to participate in two conferences with the heads of the intelligence agencies in Europe and with the commander of command EUROPA espionage section to decide the course of action of the first few weeks.

The last meeting had ended more than two hours ago.

At ENI's building all they were doing a blizzard to guess the next moves of the Americans and the Russians, as well as to locate the main vectors of danger from their enemies, especially those two US fleets.

She rose from her chair and walked to the main window of her office. Not too far from it, the skyscrapers of the city center, less than a kilometer away, silhouetted at the docking area of the 5th fleet or Baltic fleet, which with its 22 ships would dissuade anyone from considering the idea of an attack. Looking towards the base you could catch a glimpse of the two "islands" of the _Napoleon_ - class super carrier _Erich Von Manstein_, the flagship of the fleet.

She was distracted from the landscape when she heard a knock on the glass doors of her office.

"Madame, we received a statement from one of our submarines in the Atlantic. The vessel does not respond at the moment, but managed to send this message. It's in code, Madame"

"Let me read it Dortmann"

Captain Dortmann handed it to her. He also was worn out by almost twenty four hours of continuous service, but still managed to maintain a degree of professionalism, having not yet removed the tie of his double breasted black navy uniform, on which he worn the symbols of European navy submarine corps. Surely he was worried about his fellow soldiers who did not respond, but didn't let pierce his face with his concerns.

"Bingo. Does EUROPA already know?"

"Yes, madame. They were also alerted by our sub. We are already calculating the route of U.S. ships and EUROPA issued by USF (Underwater Security Frequency) the order to reinforce that lone sub and strike the enemy fleets"

"Get some rest, captain. I'll handle the rest of the information. You're dismissed"

Dortmann snapped to attention and went away. The vice admiral sank into the chair and lifted her cup of coffee "_And one_" She thought, "_Now it is just to figure out when they separate, and if we could try to catch them with our ships. Then we have to understand if the Americans are really going to invade Iceland. For now the war is going well_ "She allowed that expression. This was just the beginning, but they had gained a slight advantage over their enemies. The bombing of the bases in England had been completed successfully, and the uprising of the pro - Europe partisans in Ireland was starting well. It would be improved when the regular forces would have established a European presence in the area according to operation SEA LION II: If someone would find evidence of the involvement of their insular "compatriots" in some action against Europe, which actually is occurring, given that their government has permitted to the Americans to keep their air bases on their national soil, European forces predisposed to the invasion of the islands, had to mobilize and with the support of the local militia in favor of Europe, occupy the countries and establish a government that would begin immediately negotiations for integrate with the Federation. Now it was up to the parachutists, the marines and local sympathizers. As for Iceland, the last member to join the Federation in 2019 (Norway had entered in 2017), the defense would have been entitled to Admiral Giannopoulus, which has at his disposal ships, aircraft, ground vehicles and even a battalion of EC.

Not even 7 years ago she would never have imagined to occupy the position of Vice-Admiral in charge of the ENI. In fact she had not even dreamed of being promoted to captain before the age of 40. Now she was there, and responsible for about 100.000 men and women. Despite having a strong self-esteem, the idea of having under her so many people and to be able to decide the fate of many others made her more fragile. Whenever something went wrong, she felt fragmented into a thousand pieces, luckily it has not happened yet.

She heard a telephone ring.

But that was not her office's.

She looked into her black pants pockets.

"_I thought he was asleep at this hour. Will have finished partying_" She pressed a green button.

"Hello darling"

"Hey, hello, listen, I got a call in the middle of the night and I have to know where the welder is"

"I do not know, but I think it's in the second drawer of the cabinet in the garage"

"Ok I'm going to take a look. Will you return later tonight?"

"I hope so. Goodbye"

She hung up the phone just in time to see a PO1, probably just arrived, as the double-breasted black had no pleats and above all he had on his Feldmütze- style hat for the graduates.

"Madame, the meeting for national security with the President and the heads of the military is about to begin"

"Thank you, Petty Officer First Class. You can go"

He snapped to attention, made a swing and left the room.

_"Great. Another meeting. How can they stay up until this late?"_

She got up and left the room.

JARDIN DE TOULLIERES, EFEC 45th BATALLION AND 21st EFLF (Federal European Land Force) INFANTRY DIVISION 3rd BATTALION , DOWNTOWN PARIS, FRANCE, EF 04/14/2020 08:45

Brigadier General Germini was beginning to lose his temper, which happened a very few times in his life.

"Permission to speak freely"

"Agreed"

"With all due respect, Madame, here in maybe half an hour will begin to rain fire and bodies, and in the middle of this mess I cannot ensure your safety. I gave orders to an EC 220 to pick you up to take you to a safe area "

"With all due respect, General" The anger was beginning to take hold of her, because she hated being contradicted with reasons not valid "I think I would be safer here in the vault at the Elysee than on a helicopter vulnerable to enemy fighters"

"As the one in charge of the defense of the city, my job is to be sure of your safety. I'm doing this for it, madame"

"And as the president of the European Federation and direct superior to EVERY military man or woman until article four of the military code will be activated, I am ordering you to use better your assets than trying to put me in a place less safer than an underground bunker sealed with titanium and a personal guard defending it. I'll leave to your duties, general. May your God be with you"

_"Damn woman and damn atheist. How could I ever fall in love with such a headstrong woman. Damn it!" _

He was about to scream something when captain Cimino came in "Sir, you have to see this!"

"What is it, Cimino?" He asked her, exiting from his office and walking with her to the mobile command. The people around him were uncertain if saluting or continuing with their combat duties.

"One of our fighter squadrons managed to intercept an air convoy of American aircrafts" She answered, while opening the side door for her CO to come inside the truck.

They headed to the control room where there was a lieutenant typing coordinates on the holomap.

"Sir" called an operator, waving his hand "Come here"

They headed toward his console. His holopanel was wide opened in front of his eyes, so they had not to look to the small screen on the console, but could watch his holoprojections in the air.

"Sir, fighters have started to transmit this thirty seconds ago"

"Let's hear"

4,000 METERS ABOVE FRANCE, EF 14/04/2020 08:40

"Comet 1 to command EUROPA, contact, contact! U.S. aircraft at patrol point Alpha! There are V-25 Goshawks and V-120 Valkyries, with a lot of escorts. I repeat: we made contact with enemy at Alpha, transport aircraft and escorts. requested reinforcements! "

"Boss there are more fighters inbound, we have to disengage before we find us in real troubles!"

"How many of them do you see on your radar?"

"At least ten transports and six additional fighters. We do not have enough missiles to keep them busy"

"What do we do?"

Comet 1 looked on his HMD (Helmet Mounted Display) the status of the 4 EM-1000 Eurofighter Hailstorm that made up the Comet squadron,19th TFS, 6th fighter wing. The Hailstorm was one of the best multi-roles of the 5.5th generation of the world, if not the best: It was superior to the F/A- 20 in terms of agility and speed, but it was less armored than its American counterpart. But it exceeded the SU-38 Slamhound in climb rate and payload, but the Russian was more agile. The EM-1000, however in this case was at disadvantage: there were too many enemies. And with the F-14Hs, their speed advantage had vanished. But stay meant finishing the missiles and remain only with the THEL. Flee meant being chased and probably killed if they did not reach a safe area. The SAM system was declared offline in that area, but allied fighters were rapidly comeing to aid tham. The decision seemed obvious.

"Comet Leader to flight. Disengage, full speed "

"Comet 2 roger"

"3"

"4"

"Good. Consume those hydrogen cells. Make the engines melt if necessary"

Having said that, he performed the so-called "Split S": He made his aircraft half-roll, inverted and executed a descending half-loop, Resulting in level flight in the exact opposite direction at a lower altitude and accelerating.

Strangely though, the Americans didn't sent their F-14H after them. They continued on their way, in the direction of Paris.

ROADBLOCK CHARLIE 3 PARIS, FRANCE, EF 14/04/2020 08:05

"Come on, take your stuff guys, here comes the Americans!"

Saber 2 team did not need to be told twice. They slipped helmets and protections for forearms in a way more faster that Sergeant Beckenbauer had ever seen and he was deeply impressed by them: they _wanted _to fight. Excellent

Altman, unlike the other was not wearing forearms and elbow protections. The combat uniform of the Enforcer marksman only required shoulder pauldrons, shin guards and light bulletproof jacket, to avoid compromising the mobility of the wearer. Instead of wearing a helmet, he wore a hat with double visor: one in front and one behind, with built-in microphone, cross com and headphones. He took his F-3000 and left the room, followed by the others.

Outside there was a unit of AMZ -26 Badger, kindly offered by the command to transport the unit to an unknown destination that they would defend until the Americans had been rejected. They went up on the second IFV of the line, which, with its FORGAT system looking at the sky, searching for possible threats. There will be full of air threats in less than ten minutes.

After that, the team placed themselves in the passenger compartment and the sergeant began to speak

"Well, men, listen up. The command expects the landing of a battalion of the JSF in less than ten minutes to the fields of Mars. But that's not our concern. Not now anyway. Our task is to reach the local army command and establish a defense inside. We will have the support of regular infantry units, Leopard 2 tanks and Marder IV IFV. We must defend the building until further notice, at any cost. Clear? " Despite the accumulated experience, the voice of the sergeant betrayed a touch of anxiety.

But it was normal to be anxious before a battle. After all, it could also be the last.

"Crystalline" said the remaining members of the team.

"Shit" said Fosse

"What is man?" Churched Dimitriev

"I forgot it"

"It was time for the misery! It was just a stupid piece of iron"

"It was my good luck charm you pollack foul!"

"If that was your mascot then even my handkerchief might be for me"

"You do not understand its sentimental value"

"I've heard this story. Too many times"

"Stop it you two! The Yankees are already arriving, and if you get Fosse to tell the story of his good luck charm for the umpteenth time, he would kills us before the Americans"

Everyone inside the vehicle began to laugh, apart from Fosse, of course.

"Get ready Enforcers" The gunner said "We're closing to our location"

A few moments later the IFV stopped, dropping the rear ramp. Even if they had been trained to get off and establish lines of fire to cover each other, the Kommando Team Saber 2 went down as quickly as possible from the ramp. There was no sign of civilians. The evacuation took place yesterday evening by the army, and for once, they had made things extremely well. In the streets there were just regular soldiers and Enforcers, all ready to fight against the invaders. You could see in anyone, in spite of the stoic and professional expression, that the adrenaline was going up to a thousand looking for the battle. The defenders of Paris were the 45th EFEC Battalion and the 3rd Battalion of the 21st Infantry Division of the EFLF. Altman saw some soldiers dismount from an EAGLE 2 armored car and taking position immediately behind a block of cars and sandbags, with the gunner who opened the biped of MG5 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon).

The MG5 was the successor of the MG3, which in turn was the successor of the MG42, used by the Germans in World War II. Gas Operated with a rate of fire of 2,000 rounds per minute with an initial speed of 700 m / s; 7.62 mm, it had the ability to kill almost anything within 1.5 Km. The rest of the soldiers were equipped with FAMAS A4, G709 rifles, Beretta DMSR 7 and JO-2 for snipers, who were reaching high positions in the surrounding buildings for a clean line of fire.

"Come on, inside the building, establish clean lines of fire and defensive emplacements!"

At the words of the lieutenant, the Enforcers entered the building, reaching the windows on the second floor

" Altman, find a nice spot. Bianchi, Fosse, get on that balcony and reinforce it with sandbags. Dimitriev, I want the MG 3 at that window!"

"Yes, sir" They all answered, while reaching for their positions.

"Ready your grenade launchers guys"

The team answered putting a grenade in their AGL-3.

EFEC BATALLION 45th INFANTRY DIVISION AND EFA 21st 3rd BATALLION HQ, JARDIN DES TOUILLIERES, PARIS, FRANCE, EF 14/04/2020 08:14

Brigadier General Germini was turning nervously around the holotable. The dogfights over the city had only just begun, thus making the evacuation by air of President Pérreau impossible. "_Stubborn_" He thought "_It's okay that she is the boss, but in this case I have the most experience, dammit. I don't want to be responsible for the death of the president in the first twenty four hours after the beginning of the hostilities ..._ " his thoughts were interrupted by captain Cimino.

"Sir, our man are ready and the JSF is landing it's VTOLs with troops"

"What about the marines?"

"They're deploying them too, sir: HUMVEE, M1 tanks and LAVs. Their total strength will be of two battalions if our intel is correct. Like us sir"

"Then it's going to be an even match. now we'll see if the largest special force in the world can match the battle hardened urban terrain experts of the Enforcer Corps and Europe's extremely professional army. Do we have a Gadfly in that zone?"

"Yes, sir, code-named" Dragonfly "

"Give me it's camera feed"

"On the screen now, general"

The first black screen lit up, showing the borderless fields of Mars being occupied by US VTOLs, from which descended heavy armor and infantry. He even saw some AH-80 be pulled out of the Valkyries. "This is going to be interesting" He remarked.

"Sir?"

"On screen. Badgers will have some work to do apparently. What about our regulars in the area?"

The camera shifted to a row of four destroyed Leopard 2 tanks still smoldering, while all around he could see a few dozen European bodies, all caused by American air support, which cleared the way for the first wave. He hoped that the FEAF was avenging their fallen comrades up there.

"They will be avenged, Sir"

"Yes. It is up to us to do it"

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And so here we go. The battle is about to begin. Will president Pérreau be safe in the Elysee? Will general Germini and his forces repel the JSF? And what about the Americans and Russians?

Remain tuned up for the next chapter and thanks for the positive reviews.

R&R again!


	5. Paris in ruins

Sorry if I'm late but i was busy this week. Maybe i would be able to publish another chapter for Thursday. Maybe. If not, Always on Sunday! Thanks for the positive feedback my dear readers. Now enjoy a new chapter of the THIRD WORLD WAR

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CHAPTER 4: THE BATTLE OF PARIS

THE KREMLIN, MOSCOW, RUSSIA 14/4/2020 09:30

"Izotov"

"It's begun, General"

" I heard it. How's it going?"

"By now the Americans have occupied the fields of Mars and are advancing towards rue de l'Universite. There are heavy clashes between the European army and marines near the military school and along boulevard de Grenelle and the surrounding area"

"What can you tell me about the JSF?"

"They're heading towards the military district. It seems that they want to occupy the local military HQs to acquire intel. They're also heading along the Seine"

"And the Elysee?"

"It's Safe for now"

"Good. We certainly don't want Pérreau to die right now. Let's hope that the European commander will be able to hold his own against the Americans. I assume that operation 1501 is in motion, right?"

"Completely. Our men will fulfill their tasks once the American forces have secured our places of interest"

"Which is what they're trying to do now"

"Then let's hope that the European commander will pull back from at least one of those HQs. I am afraid but now I have other matters to attend to"

"Don't worry. I have a priority call on the other line. Dasvidania"

"Dasvidania"

He hung up and pressed a button on the phone.

"Izotov"

"General, please turn on the television on channel 5"

"Yes, Mr. President"

Izotov turned on the TV in his office as Kapalkin had ordered. He stood shocked by what he saw.

"Intense clashes are taking place between the American JSF and the SGB of our country in the proximity of the nuclear reactor of Mailhakow in what looks like a full blown raid. I can still hear secondary explosions of some secondary structures, while U.S. forces continue to push towards the control center of the reactor... "

"It 's terrible" said Izotov, still watching the TV. Dead bodies and explosions were now displayed, while gunfire made enough noise to cover the speaker's words.

"Well general, remember that no one has informed me of a possible attack against the new reactor in eastern Ukraine. It would have been your duty"

"Sir, the GRU did not know about the attack!" He justified.

"Well it will be better that the implant does not suffer serious damage, otherwise someone will have to pay the consequences"

Izotov swallowed. The president was a former member of the KGB and he was one that kept its promises. Threats included.

"Oh, one more thing"

"Sir?"

"Prepare a plan of retaliation against America, and choose a good commander"

"Yes, sir, consider it done"

"I'won't consider it done until it will be done, General. Dasvidania"

He hung up the phone.

"_How is it that Americans were able to attack a crucial structure in our country without us noticing? Two things: either the Americans are really good, but I do not think at this point, or is there a spy among us_ " He looked in one of the drawers of his desk. Not for a bottle of vodka, but to find the number of the SVR agent who had stopped him two days ago.

"_Here it is. Oleg Milanich, SVR_" He dialed the number on the phone.

"Oleg Milanich"

"I suppose you remember me, agent Milanich"

"General Izotov, finally. Thought you did not want to accept our offer"

"The opposite. Did you see the news?"

"I'm watching them now"

"And then I'm sure you thinks that there is a traitor among us"

"I guess you're right, no one of us was informed of the possibility of an attack such inside Ukraine. Have got any ideas?"

"Yes. I'm sending you a list of names to put under observation"

"Thank you general. I'll inform you daily of the status of the investigations. We certainly don't want to loose such a valuable asset like you, so if you have some suspects or need anything, just call me. I think that it's better to inoltrate the list to the upper echelons to take action. Dasvidania general"

"Dasvidania"

Sergei Izotov didn't often coursed, but given the seriousness of the situation and the difficulty in finding his bottle of vodka, He did.

"_Shit. All to me_"

PARIS, FRANCE, EF, 14/4/2020 10:00

Lieutenant Mattias Eiker, 25 years of Bergen, Norway, had never imagined his career as an officer in that way. In his family, all the men of the paternal side were soldiers, so he would certainly have taken his life in the army. But since when he had joined the OCS, Europe was at peace, he thought that peace would last forever.

Vain hope.

"_I knew that I had to say no to my father, dammit!" _It was the only thing he could think in the last five minutes, with a ebony desk crushed on his bulletproof vest. He and his team were advancing with a Leopard 2 tank to secure the road before the arrival of reinforcements, which was estimated to be between five and ten minutes. As they walked through rue Cognaco Jay, near the intersection with the banks of the Seine, the facade of the building on the left exploded, bearing down against the tank and the soldiers near it. The others were immediately thrown away, but before he could do anything he was crushed by the massive desk, which made him beat his head against the asphalt, causing him to lose the senses for a couple of minutes.

Suddenly he felt the weight on his chest decrease.

"_What's going on?"_

"Come on Sir, we need to get away from here, grab my hand!"

He instinctively grabbed the hand outstretched toward him, who in turn dragged him against a wall of debris. He partially stood up, remaining prone and leaning against the wall. The figure who had helped him get bent too, so he could look him in the face. He had the standard visor down over his eyes and a bit of concrete dust on the standard European army urban blue camouflage. He looked over his shoulders in search of a rank, until he found it under the banner located on the right shoulder, composed by six blue and black gallons, three sharp downward and three arches above with a yellow star in the space between the two tetrads. A sergeant major. The only one in the platoon was sergeant Provov, his second in command.

"You all right, lieutenant?"

Eiker shook his head for a couple of seconds, while massaging his temple with a hand under the helmet. The glove's touch on his skin was cold.

"I'm fine sergeant. How long did I stayed out?" He said with his comm channel, knowing that if he tried to speak, the rumors of gunfire would have prevented the sergeant from hearing him.

"Five minutes sir. No sign of our reinforcements. We have eight KIA and two WIA. Doctor Valdez is treating them but they'll need evac ASAP. What's our plan sir?"

_"One third of the platoon is down. Fantastic. I need a plan. Think, think!"_

"SITREP, Sergeant"

"Sir, the tank has been buried and destroyed, so no support from it. The JSF keeps us under fire from that building over there" On the Lt's cross-com, passed in rapid succession the images of the tank and the building where the JSF team suppressed them. The images then disappeared, while the Lt. recalled on screen a 3D map of the area. The cross-com was an American invention, perfected by Europeans. It was a strip of glass for the eyes embedded in Enforcer helmets, regular ones, aviable as glasses and ASO (Advanced Sniper Optics ),which allowed all soldiers to have a clear view of the battlefield with data reconnaissance and tactical orders, and allowed to issue orders without the need to shout into the microphone to be heard. "And from that roadblock there" he said, pointing to a position away from the wall where they had taken cover with some soldiers.

"We have to go around if we want to clear the way before the arrival of reinforcements" He turned to the five men covered with them "Right men?"

"Yes, sir"

"Well, we will divide into two teams: The first will be with me to help me get around the barricade and enter the building to clean it up: We will enter the collapsed building, move across it and exit at the left of the roadblock. We clean it up and go to the other building. We raid it and save the day. The second team will perform a suppression fire to keep them busy. Sergeant, I, Mendez and Kruger are the first squad. Bonnay, Jeager and Osman keep them busy here. clear? "

As an answer, Bonnay exited from cover and unloaded his magazine, followed by his squadmates. Eiker motioned for the rest to follow him through the building, entering from a window.

"Sir"

He turned toward the voice, it was Kruger.

"I think that you would need it" he told him, handing him a FAMAS A3 assault rifle, along with a bandolier of magazines.

Eiker took them, remembering that he hadn't a weapon with which to fight. He nodded toward the man.

"Ready men? Action!" He jumped inside the window,, followed by his team.

ABOVE PARIS, FRANCE, EF, 14/4/2020 10:05

"Dive, Dive! flare! Flare!"

Comet 1 pressed the button of the radar and thermal decoys, hoping to confuse the Sidewinder II missile who was closing too fast on his tail and pushing the stick towards the console to direct the jet engine downwards, thus lowering the plane. An F/A-18 had hooked on him a couple of minutes ago and was finally able to get a lock and shoot. Kellerman prayed that the flare confused the infrared devices of the missile.

Suddenly he heard a roar. The missile had hit the flare.

"Good job Major, now let's take care of the others" Said Two.

"Roger"

"Comet Squadron, what's your status?" asked AWACS ARCTURUS, at least at 17,000 feet above them. The AMH 66 AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System) was a Eurofighter product, designed specifically for electronic warfare. It had the role of AWACS and AGACC (Air to Ground Airborne Command and Control), and it was a crucial asset on the battlefield due to it's multirole capabilities, so a squadron of EF-2000 was escorting it.

"Just disengaged from a fight. Ready and waiting for instructions" Comet One said

"We have a squadron of additional bandits in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. Cleared to engage "

"Roger"

"Damn it, they keep coming, how many of them did we kill so far alone? Seven?" Asked three, stressed by the constant dogfights and duels that happened today in Paris's skies.

"Maybe a little more, but the _Ford_ class brings at least 80 planes"

"So we have to earn the salary today. Attack formation"

The four EM-1000 arranged themselves in a "V" formation, with One at the center, Two to the left of One, Three to the right of One and Four to the right of Three. Their targets, four F-35 Lightning II, became aware of their presence and broke formation.

"Sir, the enemy is dispersing, requested permission to spread out"

"Agreed Four. Take them out"

The four planes broke formation: One went straight. Four climbed, two went left and three right.

Comet 1 putted himself almost immediately at the tail of a F-35

"Let's see how good you are"

The two began to chase at all afterburner, passing near the Eiffel Tower, heading south. Every now and then the bandit tried to shake off the pursuer, pulling up, making tight turns or trying to slow down, to try to be overtaken by his opponent. Unfortunately, the F-35 was not able to perform the "Pugachev's Cobra": slow the plane, lift the nose tilted up to 120 degrees, thereby increasing the friction on the aircraft, slowing down, then restore power to the engines and get back in attack position, just behind it's opponent. The EM-1000 could. However, the F-35 could try to make a loop. Not a "Kulbit" but a loop for sure.

And he did.

"_Shit_"

"Comet One, it's in your tail!"

"Tell me something that I don't konw!"

Kellerman slowed down with the plane, preparing to perform a "Cobra". He felt his body filled with adrenaline that was running for the first cobra. If you came too soon the enemy would have riddled the plane with the 20mm cannon and if you came too late, you'll go into stall. He had to have the right timing.

He started the maneuver. Decelerated and turned up his nose for a second. Then gave power to the engines and found himself in queue at his opponent.

The "Lock On" alarm sounded in the cockpit.

"Goodbye"

He launched a infrared guided Geofon missile.

"Fox 2, Fox 2" He shouted into the microphone.

Suddenly, the American pilot raised the nose of the fighter and starting climbing, while flipping flares.

The missile took the bait.

"_Shit_"

He shifted to the close combat weapon. Unlike foreign fighters, EM-1000 used an enhanced version of the direct energy weapon in use on other European aircraft, ships and some ground vehicles, the THEL. The laser was capable of piercing the armor of a tank, let alone the cell of an F-35.

He brought himself at a hundred yards from the queue and opened fire. A blue beam traversed the distance between the two aircraft in less than a tenth of a second and hit the American's afterburner. The plane wasn't cut in half, since not all of the blow had reached its target, but stopped. The laser was hot enough to melt the metal of the afterburner, closing the air's exit, and so removing the thrust that kept the plane in flight. The Hailstorm overcame the Lightning while it began to fall down.

"Form up"

The four aircraft re-established formation.

"Is everyone here?"

"Two"

"Three '

"Four"

"All right. We need to return to the airport because our reading says bingo fuel for me and two, not to mention that Three took missile shrapnel to the engine "

"Yeah, I'm losing power. I'll have to go back"

"Affirmative. Arcturus, we'll head towards the base for refueling and rearming"

"Affirmative Comet squadron. The runway has been alerted. Rearm and refuel, then back to air as soon as possible, we are receiving requests from the ground. Comet three, a spare plane is being prepared at the runway right now"

"Roger, we 'll load LGPsB and ATSMs. Comet One out"

The Comets elegantly bent eastward, in the direction of the Évereux-Fauville AFB

JARDIN DES TOUILERES, EFEC 45th BATALLION AND FELF 21st DIVISION 3rd BATALLION HQ, PARIS, FRANCE, EF, 14/4/2020 10:20

Germini was bent on the holomap, giving orders to the forces under his command.

"Eiger, advance towards the EFA HQ. Kommandos over there need a hand"

"Yes, sir"

"Titanium, perform a search and destroy in the Elysée"

"Yes, sir. Consider them already dead"

"This is Thor, the navy archive is under heavy attack from many JSF units. Tanks and Ghosts riflemen. We can not do it alone sir, we need support, right now!"

"We're a little busy here Thor. You have to wait before receiving additional ground support. But I can give air support. Standby"

"Arcturus what is the air support status?"

"General, the air battle is slipping in our favor, but the Americans do not give up. I can send you a couple of airplanes, but there's no time for more than a single flyby"

"Good. Give them to me"

"Yes, sir, call sign Tempest"

"Great"

"Listen Grenadiers: There are planes armed enough for a single LGPB (Laser Guided Precision Bomb, powerful enough to make a crater of 7 meters of diameter and destroy three tanks) fly. Use it wisely. Reinforcements are on their way. If you can not make it, evacuate"

"Yes, sir"

"Team Saber, report"

"Sir, we are surrounded inside the building. Numerous casualties among the regulars and half of the team has been eliminated. Vehicles were destroyed by American attacks. Instructions required!"

"Stay there lieutenant. There's a tank unit that is coming to help you"

"Roger. Tell them to hurry"

"Eiger, where are you?"

"Five minutes, sir. Rue Cognaco Jay is green now, it won't be long before we arrive to the "

"Sir" Was captain Cimino "FELF 2nd platoon cleared rue Cognaco jay. The way is clear"

"Remind me to offer a drink to those who have cleared the road"

"Yes, sir, even if they are not in many"

RUE JAY COGNACO, PARIS, FRANCE, EF, 14/4/2020 10:25

When Mattias opened his eyes, he realized that he was lying on the ground on a stretcher. He did not remember much of why he was on that stretcher, but his chest hurt. He tried to bring back to mind what had happened before. He remembered that he and his team had entered the building in ruins on the left until they reached the first floor, via the first floor's floor which collapsed on the ground floor. Once they found a window from which came a mountain of debris that allowed to slip out and get to the left of the JSF forces on the ground, who were suppressing his men. He went first and stepped over the sill and slided on the rubble, followed by his men. He took shelter behind a hydrogen BMW and watched the enemy: seven JSF pioneers armed with SCAR-A1 rifles and Javelin II rocket launchers were pinning down his men. He pulled out a A-4 frag grenade and waved to the sergeant to imitate him.

"Three, two, one, Now!"

They threw grenades at the same time and fell behind cover. They heard two bangs and looked up.

All dead.

They left the shelter. Mendez and Kruger went on while the lieutenant and sergeant covered them. The two arrived in the vicinity of the side door of the building when a JSF pioneer equipped with a powered exoskeleton and minigun, appeared from the corner and began to spew fire on two soldiers, killing them in a hail of bullets. Without thinking about it for a moment, he and the sergeant opened fire, emptying the magazine on American, killing him with the last hits. They went to the door and threw two flashbang, one below and one above. They divided. He went upstairs, while Provov cleaned up the ground floor. He found three pioneers on the balcony and opened fire, killing them. There memories began to fade. He remembered only that he had suffered a blow to the side and being rushed down from the third floor up in the street as he tried to put his assailant down.

Then the dark.

However, in the end he had survived, as he was still alive.

Or maybe not?

"Welcome back lieutenant," said a voice, "Stand still, you're still numb from morphine. Thank God you managed to put that Pioneer between you and the ground, otherwise you wouldn't have been so lucky""

No. He was alive.

EFA HQ, DOWNTOWN PARIS, FRANCE, EF, 14/04/2020 10:30

"Shit, where are the fucking tanks!" Exclaimed Beckenbauer.

"They're on the stairs, Fire! Fire!"

Five F-3000 opened fire on the main staircase, aiming to the marines that they were going up. The Americans returned fire, but was a vain hope. They couldn't make it. Not today.

Half of the team Saber and forty soldiers had been annihilated in the defense of the local FELF command. The survivors were holed up on the upper floors, where they were resisting for more than ten minutes from a hundred marines supported by an M1A2 Abrams tank. They had no anti-tank weapons, so the armor was a problem. They had rejected the American attacks for two hours, taking down even a AH-80 gunship, but at the cost of their vehicles and a lot of men. They knew that reinforcements were coming, but if they were away? If they were already dead when they would arrive?

"Last magazine!" Fosse shouted

"Flash bang!" Shouted one of the army soldiers.

Rainer instinctively closed his eyes and threw himself on the ground, while the cross-fire of M16A4 strike down all those stunned enough to stand.

The sergeant opened fire along the stairs, consuming all the thirty two caliber 7 rounds in his F-3000.

The F-3000 was adopted by the EC in 2018, after it had come out the winner in a contest between the FAMAS, AUG and FN, to see who could deliver the best bullpup assault rifle to the Enforcer Corps. The FN won with his F-3000, while the AUG had won with his AUG-4 SAW with a 50 rounds magazine. The AUG-4 was chosen to avoid a Kommando to the weight of a MG5, but sacrificing the magazine capacity. The favorite gadgets of the F-3000 were the ACOG scope, the AGL-3 grenade launcher and , as most of the Kommandos, had them. The grenade launcher was shorter than the old M203, being almost equal in size to the Russian GP-40. But nonetheless, it threw a 40mm grenade up to 200 meters away. It could also launch flash, EMP and smoke if necessary.

When the dizziness eased along the wall of the stairs there were the bodies of a dozen marines riddled by European weapons, with blood splattered on the walls behind, forming a macabre painting of red and white.

"Our tanks are here! The panthers, the panthers!"

Finally, reinforcements had arrived. Dimitriev leaned along the balcony to see the turret of the M1A2 being perforated by a special high speed APC round (HSAPCR) from a Panther 1A3 tank. The tank exploded like a firework, throwing the turret into the air. Behind the tanks, regular troops opened fire on the marines unfortunate enough to be on their line of fire, cutting them down. What remained of the defenders of the palace ran down, finishing all the wounded Americans, to give a hand to their companions.

When the smokes of the battle came down, the Enforcers could breathe again, even if it was a short break.

"Saber 1-1, Do you read?"

"Affirmative, sir. Whom am I speaking?"

"General Germini. I need you guys."

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Here we go

Battle of Paris part 2. Now team saber is going on a special mission; we'll focus on them and president Pérreau in the next chapter. Seems like that Mattias survived and Izotov is preparing a retalliation against the US. Battle of Washington DC? Who can say? You of course, with your reviews!

R&R please!


	6. Final hours

The final moments of the battle of Paris. R&R as always people. Sorry for the time delay, but I ran out o ideas. I'd like to say thanks to Dadsky for his feedback

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EFA HQ, DOWNTOWN PARIS, FRANCE, EF 14/04/2020 10:32

"We are at your orders, sir " Replied Laroche.

It did not happen every day to be contacted by the head of the battalion, and this was the first time for many members of team Saber. Although they were all veterans with years of service behind them, the higher level of orders they got was from their CO. Never by the general himself.

And this meant that there was something big at stake.

" Great. I need you for two jobs, so you will need to split the team into two units "

"Give us the orders sir. We'll think the "how to" "

"Good. The first objective is to take back the Navy archives. We've lost contact with the Grenadiers defending it a couple of minutes ago. We fear the worst: there is too much intel in that building and if the Americans are able to retrieve it, then all hope is lost. You will be assisted by army troops: clean the exterior, get inside, clear the building and prevent any network violation. The second task is to retrieve sensitive information from a downed Valkyrie, by using this code. But you have to hurry, the JSF is moving towards the wreck, and I do not know how long our forces will be able to resist on the spot. It's up to you 1-1"

" Beckenbauer, you and your team will go to the Navy archives. Team one will recover the VTOL. Clear?"

" Yes, sir " His men said.

"What about our lifts, General? "

" An EC- 220 is coming to pick the team heading to the Valkyrie. The others will be escorted by an army convoy, it should be arriving in your position right now, and I'm marking them on your cross- coms"

On the display of the ten survivors lit three blue diamonds, with distance and orders in regard. The cross -com identified targets in red, allies in blue and objectives in green. Related data appeared every time someone watched in their direction. Beckenbauer took over.

"Team 2, with me. We have a taxi waiting for us "

After that, the sergeant and his men started running in the direction of transport, while team one waited air transport.

BUNKER UNDER THE ELYSEE , ELYSEE , PARIS, FRANCE, EF 14/04/2020 10:35

Nathalie Pérreau had spent the two and a half hours after the call with General Germini holed up in the bunker beneath the Elysee, protected by her personal guard, and a unit of Enforcers outside.

According to the latest reports, the 3rd European fleet was heading to meet American vessels located fifty kilometers away from Nantes, forcing them to retreat. In the city, JSF was slowly retreating towards the fields of Mars, hounded by the Enforcers. There had been no flaws in the military network in Europe. This meant that U.S. forces had failed to seize control centers, for now.

" _This is good news, at least_ "

She entered the security code on her tablet and looked to see if there were any new information on the European performance of the first hours of the war.

There were two reports, one from ENI, about the invasion of Britain, and one of the EIA, on which were written the words BRUTUS . This caught her attention.

" _Let's see what's going on_"

She opened the file. It was divided into two voice messages. The first indicated that the voice belonged to Scott Mitchell, the legendary commander of the JSF, while the second was an analysis of the data performed by Lucrece Fouquet, head of the EIA .

She pressed on the voice message.

"Colonel Spencer " Began Mitchell " Although Russia has declared war on Europe and at the same time invaded Moldavia, Poland, Finland and the Baltic countries, we will not stand idly by while they build a new Eastern bloc. Accordingly, I order you and your 20th Assault battalion to attack the nuclear reactor in Mailhakow, in Eastern Ukraine. Complete the mission, and Russia will have to use fossil fuels for most of the war. Mitchell out "

Not even four hours ago the two countries were allied against them, and now the Americans were trying to take out their own allies? it seemed almost unthinkable.

She pressed on the second message, from Fouquet.

" Madame President " She began " this seems to be a war on two fronts, not only for us but also for the Russians and the Americans. The attack made by Colonel Spencer was successful for the Americans, who are now reaching their ships in the southern Mediterranean. The attack has reduced the yield of the reactor to the 20%, and fast recovery in short times is highly unlikely. Either way, with the ongoing war, I advice to choose well your closer workers, as from today onwards, even the walls will have ears, and then you won't be able to trust anyone. I also suggest the activation of conscription for all males aged 18 to 30 years, while for women will remain optional. implementing martial law won't be a bad idea, but it would be better to restrict it to UK, Scandinavia, Iceland and the occupied territories, while the MP will cooperate with civilian authorities in the free territories. Madame "

"_Good. Least it will be a fair fight_ "

She closed the message and opened ENI's. It was a video about the invasion of the UK, made by Vice Admiral Longhi herself.

"Operation SEA LION is proceeding as planned. Marines have landed eight hours ago in Dover, and occupied London. Other landings in Wales and Scotland are in place as I speak " The map that showed Britain slowly painted blue in the areas now occupied by European forces, which included Cornwall, Wales and Scotland and the southern region of London. The advance pointed toward York and Birmingham, occupied by paratroopers. In the areas not yet occupated standed Manchester and Liverpool, still held by the British "In Ireland the situation is much better: there is virtually no resistance from the national armed forces, apart from some scattered units, and the population welcomed us as liberators. Currently about 80 % of the country is in our hands. U.S. forces stationed in England have been wiped out with relative ease, thanks to last night stealth bombing runs and today's missile strikes. Unlike in Ireland, however, half of British civilians are hostile towards our forces, and probably with the help of the few soldiers left, they would set up a guerrilla resistance movement within the country. King Charles , the royal family members that were in England and the British ministers were arrested an hour ago by Enforcers of the 4th Airborne battalion of Maldini, while Prince William, currently in Australia, denounced our actions and took control of the British institutions left. It's highly unlikely that the countries of the New Commonwealth will go to war against us, given the relative small size of their armies, and debts that many of them have with us" on the tablet appeared the cross-com feed of sergeant first class Ramirez, 4th Enforcer, which had resumed the arrest of King Charles by Major Pollini. Strangely none of them had resisted . A clear sign of resignation "The RAF has been wiped while their were still on the runways by our bombers. Our jammers and ground teams prevented SAM retalliation disabling or destroying their command centres. The rest of their air forces were taken down by the Yellow squadron. Their navy suffered a huge blow with the sinking of the Queen Elizabeth II by one of our submarines, the _Madrid. _This is all madame"

She closed the tablet, rose from her chair and took off her black suit jacket for the warm, placing it back on the chair, remaining in shirt, and headed for the coffee machine placed on an elegant mahogany furniture. She pressed the espresso button and waited patiently for the drink. She took the cup and sat down on the furniture, paving the folds of her skirt, which had created when she climbed on the piece of furniture. She liked that position, it helped her to think, but maybe she did not have to think about now . She only had to be patient and have faith in her armies. She calmly sipped the coffee, set the cup and stood in silence. From there, she felt nothing, but thirty meters above was hell. She found it unfair that she was safely inside, while six thousand men and women fought against so many Americans.

The door opened .

She rose from the furniture.

"Madame, news from the outside " It was the head of security "The americans are retreating "

PLACE DE BRETEUIL , PARIS, FRANCE, EF 14/04/2020 10:40

"Tank!" Shouted Bianchi.

An M5A2 Schwarzkopf appeared in the rotunda, followed by a standard unit of twenty Ghosts, the JSF riflemen. The M5 was the armored vehicle supplied to the Joint Strike Force. It's primary armament consisted of a 120mm gun capable of firing three kilometers away. As secondary armament had a 7.62 coaxial machine gun, another 12.7 gun with a 360° view and an AGL with four rotating barrels and a 360° view, positioned on the left side of the turret of the vehicle, in the space between the main gun and the left edge of the turret. As a defense it had the classical depleted uranium armor, accompanied by an APS ( Active Protection System ) Quick Kill 2, that could intercept anti-tank missiles. This made it, according to the Pentagon, "The best armored vehicle in the world " and perhaps they were right.

Bianchi dropped back behind the MOWAG 2 and watched Beckenbauer, who in turn looked at the members of Saber 2 and the three surviving troopers. They had arrived five minutes ago in the devastated rotunda, covered with steaming carcasses of armored vehicles of both nations, not to mention the bodies scattered all over the road. Upon arrival, a battery of AMZ -50 Marksman had started to rain fire on the American forces outside the archives, to make things easier.

Error.

Of the three jeeps, one was hit by artillery, an anti-tank rocket shoot by the archives took care of another, while the last one had crashed into the wreckage of a M1A2. At that point, the artillery had knocked a dozen hits on the building and stopped, leaving them without coverage. They could not face the tank alone, since magnetic mines and MILAN were lost with the second MOWAG . He tried to call for reinforcements.

" Command , here's Saber 2, we're facing a lot of enemy infantry and armor near the navy archives. We need immediate support! "

" Uh, negative Saber 2; ground support can not intervene at this time and air support has pledged to cut the retreat of the Americans "

"I have a probable security breach in the archives, if I do not intervene immediately, we're in danger of going TARFU, repeat TARFU . Should not be a tank unit to support us? "

" Negative, they are blocked by U.S. forces , but maybe they can do something. I'll get you in touch with them "

" Etna here, go ahead" said the commander.

" Where is our mission support? Over "

" We're a little 'messed up here "

" Can't you send us someone at least? "

" Perhaps one can pass. Wait " He putted them on hold for a couple of seconds "I have a tank coming after you. It will be there in two minutes "

" Roger that, tell him to hurry "

" What do we do sir? " Asked Altman.

Beckenbauer looked at Fosse "What are your readings?"

Fosse watched on his cross com, updated with an ENI application to monitor the data flow from the archives and then said "The data flow isn't safe, there is still a connection from the main server room who is transmitting data"

"Then they're still holed up down there. We need to hurry or they will gain the upper hand in the war. Follow me, quickly! " He took first and directed towards the entrance of the building, followed by his men. They had to run as fast as possible before anyone noticed them. Beckenbauer prayed that they didn't see them entering.

But today he had run out of miracles.

The wagon turned the gun on the facade of the building and shot, while Dimitriev was entering.

FEMF HQ SERVER ROOM , PARIS, FRANCE, 14/04/2020 10:43

Dimitri Lukin, SVR , was working on the collection of data in the server room, while his two companions, Boris Ivanovich and Vassili Cherenko covered the entrance. The uniform he wore, of course, was not the Spetsnaz one, but the one of a JSF Ghost. The armor offered protection to chest, shoulders and shins, while elbow and knee pads were incorporated into the urban gray-black MULTICAM he wore. They had infiltrated the JSF two months ago, in order to gather data on America's elite force, and when the attack on Paris was given to their batallion, Moscow didn't lose the chance to gain such an advantage on the Europeans, and they made to the building just in time, while European aircraft had performed a bombing run with LGPB ( Precision Laser Guided Bomb ), annihilating everything that was outside the building. They had killed the few remaining defenders and the three of them had entered the server room without a fight, while the other two went up to the second floor to cover the entrance. The operation was proceeding smoothly and in less than four minutes they would have come out, if the Europeans had not sent reinforcements and rained fire on the building, killing the two stationed on the second floor, just when they were about to engage the European survivors.

Now, even after asking for reinforcements, someone was able to enter. American motion trackers didn't fail, and as a safety measure they had putted them at the entrance, in case the two upstairs missed some movement.

He heard noise coming from the stairs. Immediately he picked up from the ground his XM9, while his colleagues took shelter behind the servers, with the SCARs ready . They waited a moment for the noise to subside. Dimitri took a breath and slowly felt a heartbeat, a ritual he used to make in times of great turmoil. He gave a last glance to the datapad attached via USB to the main server. That pad had the double function of downloading data at amazing speed (due to an excellent programme created by one of the best SVR computer experts) and sending it to a secret base hidden beneath the Caucasus mountains, where their comadres would decide what to do with those informations. Also, a virus who would continue to send informations to the Caucasus complex was also implanted in the server.

"Flash bang" Cherenko shouted in English, to avoid arousing suspicion.

They closed their eyes. Despite the capacity of polarize of their viewers would reduce the blinding effect, it was always better not to watch the lightning. He stuck the gun from the shelter and began to shoot, imitated by his companions.

EFN HQ SERVER ROOM , PARIS, FRANCE, EF 14/04/2020 10:49

Rainer Beckenbauer was devastated. Anatoly Dimitriev was his friend since the creation of the Enforcers Corps, and together they saw it bad in many situations. They believed to be untouchable. Now he understood that they were not. He had understood by looking at the upper torso of his best friend separated from the legs , flying even a meter away from him. He had on his face an expression of extreme pain. With his last strength he had watched him and whispered into the microphone.

"Seems that we were not untouchable "

And then he died.

Rainer had been taken by an impulsive anger, nearly animalistic. He took his F -3000 and ran down into the server room, where he heard some noises. He had stopped at the entrance to throw a flash bang.

He entered and started to shoot at someone who had been so stunned to expose himself from cover. He had then turned the gun in the direction of another shape, emptying against it the magazine, stopping to shoot when the other collapsed. He threw the gun to the ground and pulled out his Kommando knife with a fifteen centimeters blade. Suddenly the lights went out.

EFN HQ SERVER ROOM , PARIS, FRANCE, EF 14/04/2020 10:51

Lukin was alone. His two companions were massacred by a lone European, that was now looking for survivors. Then he blasted the lights by detonating the charges that he had placed on the relé some time before, to have an advantage on him.

He heard footsteps approaching his hiding place. He held his breath and stayed crouched.

Through the night-vision visor, he saw two armored shins pass a few inches away briskly, without even bothering to look behind them. Excellent. He got up after the man passed him next, he stood up and made his move, grabbing his neck, ready to break it .

But he felt a sharp pain in the ribs, then he realized that his feet were not touching the ground, finding himself lying on the floor a moment later. He realized that he had no more hope, while his chest was pierced by a blade.

Beckenbauer was hitting the corpse with a knife for five seconds when he stopped, stood up and walked over to a open server shelf, with a pad stuck in one of the two USB ports. He picked up the data pad.

_Transfer completed at 86 %._

Beckenbauer didn't think about it twice and cutted the USB cable with the knife.

_Missing link. transfer aborted._

Just in time.

"Beckenbauer here. Connection interrupted "

"Good job. Sergeant, the data flow is now safe " Said Fosse, who was monitoring the network.

"Does the cavalry came? "

"Affirmative. The M5 took down one of our tanks but another outmaneuvered it using the square's width and hit the tank in the rear armor, penetrating the engine and destroyed it. It's safe outside and our boys are coming to us. The medics picked up Dimitriev. I'm sorry about him sir"

" Me too "Having said that, he ascended to the lobby.

JARDIN DES TOUILLERES , PARIS, FRANCE, EF 04/14/2020 13:00

"Captain Cimino, SITREP "

"The Americans are en route General. Right now their last transports are leaving the field "

" Situation in the air? "

"Our fighters shot down 40% of enemy aircraft, but their fighters are putting up a good cover. We probably won't overpass that quote, Maybe now that our SAM systems have been restored, we'll be able to take some of them down while they pull back to the ocean. I heard that their fleet had taken moderate casualties from ours"

Germini reached the holotable and called an aerial map of Paris. The last red zone was in the fields of Mars, although it was rapidly reducing. Above it, the European aircraft were engaging the American aircraft in dogfights. Just then the last V -25s were taking off.

"Send this message Elysée " The storm has passed" and tell them to give it to the President"

" Yes, sir " She saluted and went out.

Andrea took off his blue beret and ran his right hand on his short brown hair. His utility uniform was sweating.

" _It 's done. We won_ "

He looked at his Rolex " _13 o'clock__. In time for lunch_ "

He came out from the LV-20 for the first time in five hours and looked up at the sky. There was still a series of explosions and trails of engine, while some VTOL were flying westward. The Battle of Paris was over.

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So, for now it's EF 1, US 2 and RU 0. But don't be afraid, war has just begun, and new battles will beguin soon. Next chapter will cover a week and will be especially about americans and russians. Then, we will have the battle of the northern atlantic, for the fans of naval warfare.

R&R please


	7. Aftermath

Hey, I'm back! enjoy this chapter and R&R

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CHAPTER 6: AFTERMATH

USS GERALD R. FORD, US 5th FLEET, SUEZ CANAL, 14/4/2020 20:30

Colonel Bruce Spencer was sitting in the cafeteria of the USS _Gerald R. Ford_, the first ship of the homonyms class, now the flagship of the U.S. Fifth Fleet. With more than 100,000 tons of draft and about 100 aircraft, not counting a dozen helicopters, she was the queen of the oceans. For just 11 billion dollars, America possessed a new class of aircraft carriers that differed from the Nimitz-class for enhanced nuclear reactors, EMALS and improved stealth features. But it was worth it. The Europeans in only six years had built seven aircraft carrier with characteristics similar to those of the Ford class. The American naval dominance would have been in danger, and no one wanted to be overpassed by the newcomers. So the construction of the Ford class was accelerated.

Spencer was relaxing with a cup of coffee while surfing on the New York Times website, reading the various news. Of course there were things he already knew, but he liked to read what civilians thought, also to avoid reporting things to his wife that were not yet public, in the case that some of her friends worked for the Europeans or the Russians. Or talked too much and revealed military secrets.

"_The Europeans. How __Ironical. Barely a year ago, we were allies, we are now sworn enemies. Not to mention the Russians. Kapalkin. That fool has foiled eight years of shoestring. Sometimes I wonder what passes in his mind. Mitchell did well to put up this operation. they had to understand that no one can mess with us_ "His thoughts were interrupted by the noise caused by a metal tray nearly slamming on the table near him. He turned to face who had made so much noise and found a familiar face.

"Major Dennison"

"Colonel"

Alice Dennison was assigned by general Mitchell to colonel Spencer, acting as orderly, given that his predecessor had been hit by a HUMVEE at Fort Bliss, and now was hospitalized in a military hospital. And so, Dennison had been sent to Turkey in a hurry to board the carrier as adjutant for Spencer.

Bruce wondered how it was possible that at the age of 35, Dennison was not yet married or in a stable relationship. It seemed strange simply because she was high, with an athletic body and very clever. Despite the military regulations imposed short hair, she kept them to the limit, and, as he knew, Mitchell had ordered her several times to cut them. Their color vaguely remembered the colonel to those of his wife: Light brown, tending to copper.

"Great job today, Colonel" she said, distracting him from his reflection.

"Well, thanks, but I'm too modest to accept the compliment"

"You don't have to be afraid of them sir"

"It's that I recived too many of them"

They both laughed.

"So, do you like your coffee?"

"A little too watered down, but what can we do? It's the Navy, not the Army"

"Or the Marine Corps" Dennison was a member of the USMC, who after the creation of the JSF had been chosen to be part of it. She was still very attached to the Corps, despite her role as a JSF officer.

"How are the men doing?"

"Well, I'd say. They're still recovering. It was hard today"

"They've had a tough day today. Leave them rest. They've earned it"

"Affirmative. Are we already on the newspapers?" She asked, looking at his tablet.

"It's too early for them to talk about us. The headlines refers only to the battle of Paris or the invasion of the United Kingdom. Seems that Europe has gained the media's attention for their actions"

"Too bad that the bad boys got it. I heard from some my friends that the Europeans fought well"

" Nearly five thousand deaths. Largely due to the European air cut off the retreat of our VTOL. Anyway, it wasn't a cakewalk neither for the Euros. Four thousand dead"

" A true blood bath"

"It's the sad part of war major: People dies. And we can't do a thing about that but avoid that too many dies for the words of few old men. Don't you agree?

She hesitated for a second, then answered "Yes, Colonel"

" I think it's time to distract us. Won't you mind accompanying me on the flight deck? I want to see the sky"

"With pleasure, sir"

They got up and headed for the stairs.

ÉVEREUX-FAUVILLE AFB, NEAR PARIS, FRANCE, EF, 15/4/2020 12:30

Lieutenant Mattias Eiker and sergeant major Provov were walking along the edge of the main runway, headed for the cafeteria of the base. Eiker had recovered well from the fall, partly because he hadn't suffered serious injuries as he was able to interpose between him and the ground the body of his opponent, but he nonetheless took a strong blow to the chest, but nothing broken. He had heard that the Americans had suffered severe losses, but even for Europeans wasn't a walk in the park. The division was battered after the fighting in Paris, and the company suffered 80% casualties due to heavy clashes in the center, and even the captain had been critically wounded. Now he was in the local hospital under observation, but there was fear that he wouldn't survive. Well, he has been enough lucky to survive a direct hit of his EAGLE from a Javelin missile, but he was shot a couple of times while searching for cover. The captain was a tough man, having earned his rank in Guinea, like many veterans in the Land Force.

The base was full of Land Force and Air Force personnel, due to their waiting for relocation due to the end of the battle. The entire division was there and they had spent the last days eating, training and getting bored. In fact, the two were heading for the mess hall for a healthy meal after two hours at the gym doing weightlifting and running along the base.

"Lieutenant Eiker!"

Mattias turned in the direction of the voice. A woman, wearing the Land Force service uniform was advancing towards him. She hadn't a medal around her neck, but on the other hand she had five squares on both sides of the collar. A colonel.

"Colonel Jorgensen, madame" Eiker said, snapping to attention along with the sergeant. He felt pain in his ribs for the rapid movement, and a grimace of pain appeared on his face. Unlike the woman, they were the "reduced" version of the combat uniform, consisting in boots, trousers, LF t-shirt (sweated) and feldmutze style patrol caps, creating a strong contrast between the two and the woman. She was advancing towards them with a brown envelope in her hand. She stopped in front of them and saluted.

"Lieutenant"

Colonel Jorgensen was reputed to be a real bitch. A strict woman addicted to following rules and a rigid military code. She also liked to maltreat her subjugates, like her attendant. But she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Although both were from northern Europe, and Mattias had seen many like her, she was different, her eyes were like magnets but, unlike those, she rejected anyone. She would have been perfect for the EIA.

"Madame"

While Mattias replied, Jorgensen looked at the shoulders of Provov, seeking a rank and then said "Sergeant Major"

"Colonel" replied Provov

"I have a few things for you, Eiker"

"Me and the sergeant have plenty of time madame" He saw blurring the lunch break.

She handed him a small box.

"Open it"

The lieutenant obeyed, and was dazzled by what was inside: two silver squares.

"Congratulations, Captain Eiker" said Jorgensen "Captain Silbermann had not made and the command has decided to award you the promotion" She handed him the envelope "And these are the orders for your company. Captain, sergeant major"

"Madame" They answered in unison the two.

When she was gone, Provov patted on the captain's shoulder.

"Congratulations, sir. Really deserved. Orders?"

Provov was expecting something like "Let's go to eat" or similar, but he was wrong. Mattias opened the brown envelope and found within the real new orders. The shock for the promotion prevented him from thinking about anything else, except to read. After a few lines, his euphoria became seriousness.

"Prepare the men, Sergeant. They're sending us in England"

IL CEITO, SOUTHERN FRANCE, EF 16/4/2020 16:45

Il CEITO.

An ex French army base built on a plateau, it was enlarged after the creation of the European Federation in 2018, and soon became the main EFEC base, and headquarters, in western Europe much like Fort Levski in eastern Europe. The base was large enough to serve up to three battalions of three thousand men and an additional thousand of staff personnel. Large barracks, a runway, office buildings, large hangars, fuel depots, facilities ans training ranges made up most of the base, or at least the part visible on the ground.

No one of the three thoursand men and women training that day before being sent to eastern Europe to contain the Russian advance knew of the one hundred meters digged below the ground of briefing rooms, archives, command and control centers and the research and development section, and of the secret meeting of national securety between the highest charges of the nation, held far from Paris for security reasons.

In room 14, a briefing room in level 18, there was an ongoing meeting of national security manned by the most important European military and political leaders: Nathalie Perreau, the president, the vice-president Van Buren, Premier Dvorak, Minister of Defense Poulain and the special adviser to the defense Federico Cipriani, made up the politician group. For the military, there were Admiral Kowalski, Chief of Naval Operations, General Breger, Head of Ground Operations, General Jean Luc Montel, Head of Flight Operations. In addition to the five starred, there were the four starred Roberto Rinaldi, commander of FEGC and Lucrece Fouquet, Head of the EIA (European Intelligence Agency) for the three starred there were Amadou de Bankole, Chief of the Enforcer Corps, Vice Admiral Denise Longhi, head of the ENI and Juan Lovato, head of the ISA (Internal Security Agency).

Pérreau was turly concerned about their military situation, and the others in the room could hear fear in her voice "Are you telling me that there is no hope to stop them before Germany and Yugoslavia?"

"If we employ enough forces, yes" Breger said "Most of the troops had been deployed in Portugal and England, while only 30% were to guard the eastern borders, despite Kowalski's contingency plan. Anyway, our primary objective is to prevent them from reaching central Europe"

"So that means we have to win us back what we had lost?"

The screens which covered the walls lit showing a world map with all European possessions, with a magnification on the continent. Most of it was still blue, but Eastern Europe was increasingly coloring of green, as the time flowed.

"Yes, madame. There are heavy clashes in Poland and Finland, Warsaw would be lost in less than three days if we don't do something. According to the latest reports, Greece was reinforced with three divisions of Marines, while the first units of the 5th GEF (Grenadier Expeditionary Force) are preparing the defense of Bucharest from the incoming Russian offensive" He looked at general Rinaldi, looking for a confirmation, that came with a decided nod "Defenses in Portugal and Spain are being setted up as we speak"

"And in the sea? Kowalski?"

Kowalski stood up. Unlike many in the room, the admiral always got up when he had to read a report to his superiors, a legacy of the years of youth from simple Polish navy lieutenant. Before saying anything he pressed the buttons on the pad and the screens changed their image, showing the strength of the European Maritime Force "Madame, the Baltic Fleet has won against the Russian ships that were besieging Estonia, allowing the evacuation of military and civilians to Scandinavia. Enemy losses amounted to two cruisers, three destroyers and four frigates, plus six damaged ships "

"And ours?" Poulain interrupted him. He had recovered quite well from the kidnapping, happened just thirteen days ago, for being an ordinary civilian.

"I'm coming to it, Minister" He glared at him with a death look "We have lost three _Monte Bianco _class cruisers and six _Horizon_, or _Waterloo,_ class frigates"

Kowalski fell silent. In his mind he knew that the Baltic fleet was reduced to 9 vessels, practically the aircraft carrier _Erich Von Manstein_, five destroyers, two frigates and a cruiser; enough to cope with the Russian Baltic fleet, but too few to survive a direct assault of both the Russian Navy and Air Force and her new Su-34s: the frigates had the role of escort and air defense, and now reduced to two, could not cover the entire fleet.

"We have also reports of a large number of US ships heading to Iceland. I took the liberty to divert some of our ships of the Atlantic and Mediterranean fleets to set up the defense of the island. The fleets of the Pacific are heading towards the Macao, New Caledonia and various bases in Asia and East Africa to rearm, regroup and refuel. One other thing, there are clashes between our troops and the Americans stationed in South Korea What we do, madame? "

"What does Koreans say about this?"

"Simply ask us to stop. There are still no civilian casualties, but if they were there, they would not hesitate to use their army against our forces"

"Okay. I'd say ask our local commanding officer to negotiate a truce with the Americans, with the proviso that they go back to Japan, while ours in Macao"

"I will send the message as soon as we have finished here" Said Fouquet, anticipating Kowalski

The room fell once again silent. The situation was not rosy.

The president spoke up "So, since it's not going so well, what do you suggest? Do we have a few aces up our sleeve?"

The officers looked at each other with looks accomplices until Montel took the word "Actually there would be something"

"And what, General?" Churched Dvorak

"It's called STONEHENGE"

"Aw well, I guess that they had to learn about it one day" Said Rinaldi, lighting a cigarette.

ARTIC CIRCLE NAVCOM, REYKJAVIK, Iceland, EF 16/4/2020 19:45

Iceland was a cold country, especially for those who came from southern Europe, but they could make it a habit. Eusebius Giannopoulus had to do it quickly, if he didn't want to die of cold. Iceland reached, in summer, temperatures that reached his native Greece in the winter and, knowing it, he had done everything to not be assigned to the naval command in the north. But with all the experienced officers away from the motherland or employed in operations around the globe, at EUROPA he had seemed the ideal choice. At the age of 63, he was older even than admiral Kowalski and close to retirement, but he had been called upon to do his duty, and not to fill out paperwork in Athens, but to fight in Reykjavik.

For the admiral, Iceland was by no means a militarily strategic territory, apart from the oil fields that were in the sea nearby, but the Navy considered this an ideal spot from which to control Greenland and the Arctic Circle, deciding to stage a fleet and the command for the North Atlantic. Maybe at the end Giannopoulus was wrong, given the huge forces at his disposal, and air, land and sea. He had under his command 200,000 men, who made up the ground forces, 250 aircraft and the North Atlantic fleet (3rd fleet), the arctic circle flotilla (4th flotilla) and the central Atlantic fleet (2nd fleet), against about two US fleets and a battle group.

It was obvious that it would have been a massacre, but it was his job to make sure that the enemy will take more losses than them. He would read the intelligence reports later, as he was preparing to go out for dinner.

"_I hate this war already. I could have already retired, if some idiot had not played with the SLAMS. Crap_"

EFS PRAGUE, ATLANTIC OCEAN, COORDINATES UNKNOWN 17/4/2020 02:00

"Emerge"

"Aye, surfacing in progress"

Muller was exhausted. He had led the_ Prague_ in a chase that lasted two days, between him and two American friends: a destroyer and a submarine. He had managed to sink the second on the first day, while the first had been a problem. They had to move to the limit in order to avoid it's anti sub weapons, and they had to move silently for two days, but because of the damage made by the American vessel, who had managed to attack them before they could evade it, the reactor had shown signs of slowing, so they had to neutralize their pirsuer with a missile and a torpedo, and perform repairs.

"Sonar?"

"No contact, Captain"

"Any communicates?"

"Downloading in progress... done. Now on screen"

"Well well" Said his XO "Seems like that the storm had changed direction"

"Lieutenant, immersion" Ordered Muller quickly "New course, vector 075. Stop using hydrogren cells, start the reactor" He said, clinging to the knob.

"In course, sir" replied lieutenant Vaccani, thus allowing water into the tanks to allow the vessel to go under it and then making the changes to the course.

"Immersion complete. New course, vector 075, reactor at 70% and recovering"

"Good. Max power as soon as possible"

EFEC 45th BATTALION ALPHA BASE, COIMBRA, PORTUGAL, EF 17/04/2020 15:00

An EC-220 gadfly flew over the countryside near the city of Coimbra, disturbing the tranquility of the early afternoon typical of these areas. On board were captain Cimino and general Germini, returning from an inspection tour of the various Enforcer bases near the base camp, called "Alpha Base".

They had been transferred to that area 36 hours ago, and were preparing to finalize the preparation of the various bases that welcomed the 6,000 men and women of the battalion. Both wore the field uniform of the EC: trousers, jacket with short sleeves all in blue camouflage, black boots, blue beret with a golden frieze and black tank top. The grades in the officer version, were exposed on the straps, while for the troops were on their shoulders, together with the flag and unit symbol. Cimino took off her beret and ran a hand through her hair. Andrea was about to speak, when he was interrupted by the co-pilot.

"Sir" the sergeant interrupted him "General Du Bankole wants you!" He told him handing a headset with microphone

Germini took it and stuck on the head

"Brigadier General Germini to report, sir,"

'Nuff said Andrea, I have to tell you a something "

"Yes, sir, go ahead"

"EID and ENI just handed me this: be prepared. An American force is heading towards Arrabida with the intent to land on our soil. Estimated Arrival in less than 96 hours. We want a mobile defense of the area, but i trust you and the other commanders enough to do your job in the best way is possible. You stay there in Coimbra, send the 23rd Battalion to control Arrabida. They might try a double landing"

"Yes sir"

"Good luck, Andrea. See you next time"

Andrea returned the headset to the co-pilot and lowered his head.

"Sir, Is there anything wrong?" Asked Cimino

"They are going to invade us"

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It's not over yet and they'll have to fight to put an end to this. Stay tuned for next chapters

(sorry for the time delay and if I'm making quick this time, but I had troubles with the ideas)


	8. Imminent Threat

Look who's Back!

Again. Sorry for the tim delay but be ready to be used to it until summer. Anyway I'm start working on a new Fanfic, but this one won't stop. Absolutely. Not before the first 200.000 words anyway.

Enjoy

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Chapter 7: Imminent Threat

THE PENTAGON, WASHINGTON DC, USA 20/4/2020 14:10

Nakamura was the last military man to enter the room. Luckily, president Becerra and his aides had not entered the room yet, and this was good, since they had to be the last to enter, by protocol. He recognized some familiar faces, such as general Aaron Williams, CSA. He and Williams knew each other since the times of the competition between the Naval Academy at Annapolis and West Point. Williams came from Mansfield, Ohio, and had made his bones in the army in the 3rd Infantry Division, then the 75th Rangers. He had fought in Grenada in '86, Panama in 1989, Iraq in '91 and 2003, and Afghanistan in 2001. He had received several medals for his bravery in the field, including the Distinguished Service Cross. James Nakamura, on the contrary, was a citizen of the west coast, of Sacramento for accuracy. After graduation from naval school he had been sent in a long world tour, resulting in his promotion to captain after the attack on the USS _Cole_ and continued to climb the ranks until becoming Chief of Naval Operations in 2019. In the room there were also Wallace Jennings, CSAF and Carl Montgomery, CMC. James recognized the head of the CIA, Kellerman, and the head of the NSA, Scaletta. There was also the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Laura Kennedy and her lackey, General McDaniel.

He found an empty chair near Williams and sat down.

"Aaron"

"James. I hope your plan as good as you've said, since we need a victory for our troops morale" Williams said, sharing the thoughts of many officers after the defeat of Paris. That proved that America wasn't fighting against some regional power or third world state, but against economically flourish countries. It was since WWII that something like that happened.

"Count on it. Mitchell. Where is he?"

"With the president, as Rogers told me. What about Carlos, why isn't he with you?"

"At home, with his leg broken in three points"

"Jesus! What'd he do?"

"He was doing a hike in the mountains when he slipped on a rock and fell on a boulder"

"Wow. Little Stony Man mountain?"

"Yeah"

"They have lost a visitor"

"Bad thing for them. luckily I was assigned a lieutenant commander as a temporary replacement"

"The one on the chair near Rogers?"

"Yeah"

He wisthled "Lucky you"

A sergeant in dress uniform entered the room and announced "The President of the United States" and stood to attention.

Everyone stood at the entrance of David Becerra and his entourage. Nakamura recognized among them Roberta Santiago, the national security adviser, or how many the thought, another Hispanic brought to the White House by Becerra, and General Mitchell. Once everyone had reached their chairs the President motioned them to sit down.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the situation is critical. Nakamura, you told me that he have a plan, right?"

"Yes, sir"

"Then I'm all ears" The president sat down and turned on his tablet, motioning Nakamura to start

Nakamura got up from his chair and motioned to a soldier in the room that came out precipitously. He checked the knot of his tie and began to speak

"As you all know, the invasion of Portugal is in motion as we speak, but a single front won't be enough to make the Europeans busy. Even with the Russians pushing from the east. They might fall back, but they will resist anyway. We need to open another front in the north and the best idea is to liberate the British Isles. But to do so, we need to secure a corridor in the northern Atlantic, which is actually infested by their subs and warships and we would need to liberate a corridor, or at least provide a distraction"

The first soldier who had come back into the room and nodded to James, who replied with a nod.

"And, thanks to my staff, I have found a way to do so"

"To do what?" Asked Jennings "Destroy or distract?"

"Both"

The screens lit up showing a blue map of Iceland and at least 200 km of surrounding sea.

"Iceland. If we capture this island, the Denmark strait would be safe and we could easily attack Britain descending from the eastern side of Iceland. Capturing this island, we would have, as I said, a secure corridor, but also a FOB for our navy. I personally ordered the _John C. Stennis_ battle group to assist the 2nd and the 6th fleet in this battle, as well as giving orders to the Marine Corps to prepare a MEF of 200,000 elements to conquer the island "

The map showed the island in red with the positions of the enemy fleets, while tinged in blue were the American ships, directed to the Island.

"Will engage the European fleet into the, probably, largest naval battle in the war, with the aim to reduce its operational capabilities in that area of the 90%. Once cleared the road, the corps and the JSF will hurtle on the undefended island and eliminate resistance in less than two weeks of fighting "

"What about air support? Will the navy take care of it or the Air Force will?"

"For now, general Jennings, Our carrier wing should be able to withstand FEAF's strikes, but as soon as we establish a foothold on the ground, an airfield will be constructed to permit the landing of USAF assets. All the details are on your tablets. If you have other questions, feel free to ask"

All the presents became instantly busy reading their tablets for the next fourty minutes, while Nakamura answered the sporadic questions. He wasn't a good body language reader, but seemingly he managed to persuade the majority of the presents to support his plan and managed to catch a nod from Mitchell.

A slow, steady beat of hands rose from the chair of General Kennedy.

"Well, Well, the usual expensive and ineffective plan that only the navy is capable to do: send slaughter thousands of young Americans while they are taking the sun on their ships. The plan makes sense, yes, but we should be concerned about serious things, as my defense project of Alaska from the Russians " Said bitterly. The viper had exited her nest.

"Leveraging on the dead won't came to nothing, Kennedy. They knew for what they've signed for when they had enlisted or attended military academy. 200.000 is a rather low number in the final body count, as our predictions suggest "

"Your predictions? I'was rather impressed by you putting up this operation. That is not your concern, admiral. Our concern now should be win the war"

"Quiet People" Becerra stood up, raising his voice with an angry tone "Kennedy, cut it. Admiral, you finished?"

"Yes, sir"

"Well then, since we are a democracy let's put it to a vote. Raise your hand if you support the admiral"

The majority of the presents approved Nakamura's plan.

"Good. Operation ICECAGE will be in motion from 0000 of tomorrow. Mobilize your men, generals. We have a war to win. Kennedy, I'd like a word in private with you more later"

"Yes, sir" replied the brunette, mentally preparing herself for a good dressing down from POTUS.

"Good. Else?"

"Sir" Said Jennings "I believe that we can hit STONEHENGE"

"Wait, wasn't that top secret" Asked Kellerman to Jennings.

"The president need to know, general. Hiding things from each other won't help us. And besides, POTUS has clearence for everything"

Kellerman shoot him a glance of the "It's not over yet" type, but letting him to continue.

"Please, general Jennings, would you like to inform me about this STONEHENGE, since I don't know a thing about it?"

Jennings repeated gestures of Nakamura at the same soldier, who reported that everything was ready. He ran a hand through his graying hair and began to explain the operation:

"We know that the STN (STONEHENGE Turret Network) is located in Austria, in an area between Linz and Vienna. Obviously the place in question is obscured by Google maps and the Europeans are disrupting or destroying our satellites, but thanks to our spies we were able to discover the exact location and take pictures of the complex "

They were shown pictures. A huge circle of 5km in diameter with several bunkers inside and a huge military base with a runway near the ring. It was so fortified that it looked like a fortress, had it not been for the 12 enormous rail guns. The artillery pieces were huge: the twin barrels from where the coils accelerated the shell were at least six hundred meters long.

"These monstrosities" He continued, pointing the guns "Are capable of launching a EMP projectile within a range that goes from Portugal to Finland, also having the ability to change ammunition with several types of EMPs, like small, medium and large area of effect shots and artillery rounds with enormous firing capabilities. It guarantees the Europeans with total air supremacy over their air space, due to their aircraft that have a electronic shielding capability. Luckily, it has some disvantages : It requires a huge amount of energy to shoot, and the high cost of each shot, which makes it usable only in the most serious situations"

He paused to be sure that everyone was following him.

"Anyway, we were able to develop a plan of attack against the guns: A force of 24 aircraft, 12 F-15S Super Eagle and 12 F-15E Strike Eagle will have the task of eliminating the defenses and to hold off the enemies, while a flight of F/A-20 would execute an attack on the guns. Once destroyed, our forces will return to a naval group in the Mediterranean or in our land bases in Israel or another allied country"

Becerra looked thrilled "Weren't we studying this kind of technology?"

"We are still doing it, but we are trying to reduce the dimensions of the railguns. You can't mount a thing like that on a tank, it's too long. Anyway, we'll need two things: A secure waterway to Europe or ground bases from where launch an attack, and brave or foolish enough pilots to complete the task"

"I think that it's time to see if the HAWX squadron is capable to live up to it's name"

"Then, we'll need to prepare some simulations"

100KM SOUTH OF ICELAND, MONTE BIANCO CLASS CRUISER EFS GRANDE CASSE, EF 23/4/2020 18:34

Captain Pierre Gardere was enjoying a cigarette on the deck before dinner. The _Grande Casse_was the typical European cruiser, representing the synod between maneuverability, firepower and technology. Armed with two Oto Melara 127 mm artillery pieces, three Hussar CIWS systems, four missile launchers with more than three hundred missiles in total, advanced electronics and countermeasures, anti submarine equipment and fifty centimeters of armor, it was one of the best ships suited for ship to ship combat in the FEMF. All of this was represented by the contrast between the aft cannon and the sunshine, the destructive power of man and the beauty of nature.

_"War don't do discounts to anyone. It's a pity that we have to fight here"_ He thought, finishing his cigarette on the ashtray. He reentered the ship and proceeded to the CIC, located in the middle of the vessel, which was fervent of activity due to the preparations for the battle. The CIC was a large rectangular room, with a holographic table in it's middle and screens with every kind of information against the walls. Until a few years ago that would have been considered sci fi, but now, it was reality. European reality.

"Sir" His XO called him from the briefing room, which was separated from the CIC with a wall "There's a message from the admiral"

"Thank you Otso. I'll take it in my cabin"

The XO nodded to his CO and returned to speak with fellow officers about the upcoming battle. Gardere recognized the chief engineer, the helmsman, the weapons system officer and the comms officer. They were recognizable not only by their faces or rank, but also from the shoulder insignia on their gray working uniforms. He recognized just the engineering's red and the command crew's gold, but there were other more colors in a ship, for example blue for the flight deck crew, green for the weapons systems, white for the medical staff and brown for the navy rifleman.

Pierre went into his cabin, opened the fridge and poured himself a glass of apple juice, a few of the amenities of the captain, while with the other hand lit the pad, which required a retinal scan. It was a highly classified document, with specific orders for each ship. The message read as follows:

TITLE: BATTLE ANALYSIS

STATUS: BLACK CODE

NAVCOMEUROPA, NRTATL SECTOR

FROM: ADM EUSEBIUS GIANNOPOULUS

TO: VADM MARCO GALLI

SUBJECT: U.S. THREAT

Vice-Admiral Galli, I just received confirmation from NAVCOMEUROPA that a large American aero naval force is closing to our vessels in the Denmark straits. ENI's operatives suggest that their goal is to wipe out our forces and establish a foothold in Iceland.

We're not going to give up without a fight. The navy still has a reputation, don't let it be brought down by some American ships. I received orders to maintain at all costs the control of the area and I intend to do so. Stay on guard. The Americans have always been good at planning. Our ships are nearly equivalent, but remember that we, as they, have both strong points and weak ones. Don't forget it and play your cards wisely. Don't engage too far from the island to permit local air support to protect your forces. Yellow squadron will make a hit and run strike from Greenland and retreat to Rejkavik as soon as they have finished. Support them at all costs, they're the best of the best. STONEHENGE support will be aviable for the operation.

I trust you, Vice Admiral. Keep up the honor of the European Navy.

ADM Giannopoulus

NAVCOMEUROPA NRTATL SECTOR COMMANDER

The second part of the message consisted in the general strategy studied by admiral Galli and individual orders for each ship.

LOCAL PRIORITY TRANSMISSION

BLACK CODE

IMMINENT THREAT

EF 2ND, 3RD FLEET AND 4TH FLOTILLA DESIGNATED COMMANDER

VADM MARCO GALLI

Ladies and gentlemen, the moment of truth has now arrived.

Therefore, as commander of the three fleets, I order the following:

1) The 4th flotilla would be held at a distance with its ships in order to prepare itself for hit and run strikes against american forces.

2) I order all the vessels of the 2nd and 3rd fleet to reach the rally point Zulu by 1400. Every ship and submarine belonging to the fleets has to follow it's orders, which are sent with this message.

I expect that all orders are executed to perfection and without second thoughts. Europe is at stake.

Dismissed.

VADM Galli

Gardere closed the message and threw himself on the bed. A classic naval battle: They will start to throw missiles and cannon fire at each other once they had entered into their radar range, in addition, they had to shoot down enemy fighters armed with anti-ship missiles and laser-guided bombs.

It would have been a living hell.

Or the occasion for a medal.

EFS Prague, 126KM SOUTH EAST OF ICELAND, EF 25/04/2020 07:18

"Captain, I have something on the sonar!" Shouted Delgado

Captain Muller rushed into the sonar section, followed by his XO.

"What is it PO2?"

"Sir, lots of contacts, sir. Probably American ships. I'm not sure if this is the combat fleet or the supply one, however"

"What about the sonic profiles, have you done a comparison? "

"Sir, I would have done it if I could" This, theoretically, was at the limit of insubordination, but Muller let it go. Juan was too good to be lost for a stupid thing like that, but the captain shot him a warning glance at which he lowered his head in sign of sorrow "But there is too much noise for this to be effective with the passive sonar. We would need to go active, but we all know the risks of it, and surely remember what happened last time we did it. Although I have a nice big ship here. Might be an aircraft carrier. I'll have to go active for an effective recognition of the enemy ships"

"Sir, I suggest to put some miles between us and them before we repeat the story of a week ago" His XO said.

"All right. Lieutenant, reverse course. Weapons, drop a sonar box with remote control"

"Aye aye, sir,"

"Set the box to active as soon as we reach a safe distance"

"Yes, sir"

When Vaccani reported two miles, Delgado activated the active sonar on the box. The active sonar's main advantage was that it could precisely indicate the distance of the enemy vessels without the need to triangulate as with the passive. However, it exposed the submarine at risk of being intercepted by an enemy vessel, if the enemy had the capability to trace the signal back, and the Americans had it.

"Do you have the positions?"

"In Five, four, three, two, one, got it! It's the damn second fleet sir! And may I be demoted if that isn't it's flagship, the _Enterprise_"

"The _Enterprise_?" The XO couldn't belive it "Wasn't it scheduled to be launched in August? Recheck Juan"

"Already done. The ENI network confirms too"

"Seems like that Uncle Sam is sending his newborn nephews against us. Delgado, let the box active, let them waste their depth charges for a small box, let them prove their brute force"

"Should we change course sir?"

"Yes, Vaccani bring us to rally point Zulu. We wouldn't want to miss our chance to improve our battle record, right men?"

"Aye sir!" Shouted the CIC crew.

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Will their cheering become sadness? Who will prevail? Heroes on both fronts are ready to give a fight against their enemy. The northern Atlantic is at stake people!

R&R!


	9. Battle for the North Atlantic 1

Hi everyone. I'm sorry for the delay, but I've been busy and lacked for inspiration for another chapter, so I decided to rewrite this one, because in the first version, it was very poor from my POV. Now it's really long and splitted in two parts. Enjoy!

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CHAPTER 8: BATTLE FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC, PART 1

PETERSON AFB, COLORADO, US 25/04/2020 13:04

"Lieutenant Cole, do we have those images of Iceland?"

"Yes, sir. C56 took them three seconds ago. I'm putting them on screen"

The images of the satellite known as C56 filled the main screen of the control room of the USAF Space Command. The coordinates indicated a point about 60 miles from the west coast of Iceland where were gathering numerous European ships, including their two aircraft carriers, the _Frederick II the Great_ and the _Josef Radetzky_, surrounded by various escort vessels.

"Bingo," said Major Langdon, the watch commander "Send them to the navy. They will know what to do with them"

But lieutenant Cole had not fully shown the photo: Greenland, in fact, had been omitted from the picture because of its low importance for the operation, as well as for the Europeans. Unfortunately, if the Americans thought they had already won with those photos, then they were underestimating the Europeans.

Because in war nothing is ever as it seems.

EFS _GRANDE CASSE_ CIC, ZULU RALLY POINT, OPEN SEA, 25/04/2020 14:00

"Weapon systems?"

"Weapon systems online. The 120 is loaded and ready to fire. The missiles are in the pipes, safeties off. Fire control radar active"

"Engines?"

"New hydrogen cells inserted and ready to be put to full capacity"

"Radar and Sonar?"

"Both active, currently scanning"

"Defense systems?"

"Hussar CIWS ready to fire. Smoke Launchers and depth charges ready"

"Perfect. All hands to their battle stations"

His XO took the microphone in the room as soon as the emergency siren began ringing "All hands proceed to battle stations, I repeat, all hands to their battle stations, this is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill" He shouted frantically, ordering the system to repeat the message three more times. Gardere went to the holomap in the center of the room and ordered a three-dimensional overview of the ship. The model in blue of the vessel materialized before him with all the statistics in percent and the information about the ship. He lowered his head and waited a few moments.

"Any orders from the Vice Admiral?"

"No, sir"

"All right. Engines half power"

"Aye aye, half power"

The ship began to shake for a few minutes. Then it stopped. The engines were now undertaken by the regime, while the ship was taking it's place in the fleet formation.

"Sir? There's a new order by Admiral" The communications officer told him.

"What does it say?"

"It orders to all surface vessels to create a smokescreen around the fleet to hide their movements by US satellites and their naval forces"

"It makes no sense" Said his XO "With radar or sonar they can locate us anyway"

It was true, but probably the admiral knew what he was doing.

"It will probably be just a distraction or a move to confuse the enemy. Besides, now is not the time to criticize the orders. Defense Systems, out with the smoke"

The lieutenant began to touch the screen as long as the familiar _clunks _echoed inside the ship.

"Smoke out sir" Said the officer "The rest of the fleet is doing the same"

"But the effect will not last long. Sooner or later it will dissolve into the air"

"Maybe not, sir" Said the communications officer "Some submarines are creating smoke in front of the fleet along with radar baits"

_"Perfect. They will not see us coming" _

"Continue on this course. Prepare weapons and recheck the radar electronics. Soon we'll dance"

NEAR THE AMERICAN FLEET, NORTHERN ATLANTIC, 25/04/2020 14:12

"Yellow 12 to all planes, check the status and confirm"

"Yellow 1 on standby"

"Yellow 2 on standby"

"Yellow 3 on standby"

"Yellow 4 on standby"

"Yellow 5 on standby"

"Yellow 6 on standby"

"Yellow 7 on standby"

"Yellow 8 on Standby"

"Yellow 9 on Standby"

"Yellow 10 on standby"

"Yellow 11 on standby"

"Yellow 13 on standby"

"Yellow 14 on standby"

"Yellow 15 on standby"

"We are all here, DRACONIS. ETA for the enemy fleet?"

"Five minutes colonel. Be careful, you'll be leaving the range of the jammers in three. Remember: hit and run. And come back in one piece, because we'll surely need you again. DRACONIS out"

"Did you hear that? Locate, lock, shoot and run. Attack as a formation, no single ship attacks, otherwise you will be more vulnerable"

"Boss, I have contacts. Thirty patrol aircraft near the American fleet"

"Only thirty? Have not heard of the RAF?"

"Apparently today the welcoming committee won't be numerous. Spread out, prepare for engage"

"We are emerging from the area of disturbance. We will become visible in ten seconds"

"Roger. Increase speed"

The fifteen EF-3000 Hurricane lit the after burners and left long white tails in the gray sky that morning. Apparently the command liked to send the Yellows to fight with bad weather, since when they had destroyed the RAF two weeks before over England, it was or raining or cloudy so that it was almost impossible to fly without instruments. Obviously not there had been many duels due to the weather, to which most of the killing was performed with radar-seeking missiles. Today the visibility was certainly better than other times, but it was not the same thing as a clear sky.

12 imagined the faces of the radar operators of the American ships when they'll see fifteen dots appear from nowhere and heading for their ships.

_"Surprise bastards" _

"It seems that they are aware of us. Their planes are heading towards us at full speed. The first will be on you in a minute"

"It 's more than enough. Lock the enemy ships and launch missiles. Then change course as plannrd"

"Roger boss"

12 pushed a button inside the cockpit and on his HMD appeared the optimal trajectories for the EXOCET III missiles. The colonel went from single view to the squadron one, and fourteen other green trajectories flashed on the screen. The optimal lock had been established by the systems of missiles, now was now just a matter of launching them and hope that as many as possible hit their target.

"Yellow 12 to all aircraft, launch in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... Launch"

Fifteen white stripes broke away from the Hurricanes, directed towards the enemy fleet. The colonel and the rest of the squadron made tight turn in unison to attract American fighters in the vicinity of the European fleet, where they played at home. Five dots disappeared from radar.

"Five centers"

"Who produces those missiles did a really great job. Percentage of missiles on the target?"

"65% sir"

_"So, so" _

"Yellow 12 to DRACONIS, do you read those five bullseyes?"

"Affirmative 12. According to our systems, yous have sunk two frigates, a destroyer and two support ships. The radio is picking up a ruckus it seems that your move have attracted their attention: the fighter escort is turning towards you, and the carriers are preparing to launch fighters "

"Tell to the fleet that it's time for them to send their boys in the air. The battle has just begun"

EFS _GRANDE CASSE_, INSIDE THE SMOKE SCREEN 04/25/2020 12:26

Smoke

Captain Gardere saw nothing but smoke on the screens. The entire fleet was wrapped in a thick gray cloud that hid from the prying eyes of the American ships. Actually that tactic had been a stroke of genius, along with the baits to confuse the enemy systems, but the downside was that they had to rely instruments since nothing could be seen five meters away from the ship. The view may have been blurred, but ears heard very well: sometimes you could hear the sound of a jet above the artificial clouds, where there were real ones. It was probably the yellow squadron who was doing all that mess. Gardere hoped they were. The best aces of Europe would have changed the Americans mind to the sound of missiles.

"Captain!" His communications officer was calling him "I have a message from the _Frederick II_, they say to aim our weapons at the coordinates that we are receiving now"

Gardere reached the console and began to read the sequence of numbers that was appearing.

_"Are we joking? We'll shoot to nothing doing this"_

"Radar, we can't we have a lock?"

"Negative sir, those baits are disturbing even our systems"

"IFF?"

"That's the most confused sir. I can tell which are our ships, but I can't detect the enemy with these interferences"

_"Merde" _

"Thanks lieutenant. Ensign, send the coordinates to the Weapons"

"Yes, sir"

"If we have the coordinates of the other ships, I want a three-dimensional map with those coordinates and those of our allies. Weapons, prepare a firing solution with a barrage of medium and long range missiles and 120. Once we receive the order to fire tell me. Turn off the fire control radar. It is useless for now "

"Yes sir, firing solutions with guns and missiles ready and waiting for your command. Radar in deactivation" said the weapons officer, as his hands danced among the dozens of icons on the screen, ready to execute each command of the brain without hesitation. In contrast those of young ensign trembled and moved slowly, as if with their slowness could delay or even stop the impending battle. The baptism of fire was always hard for any person. And you had to survive it.

_"You think you're strong. You're wrong. Do you think it will be like training. But then you realize that others shoot to kill, and you start to worry. And concern leads to panic. And panic is the last thing we need" _

"Stay strong people" Gardere said slowly. Once he had heard that the commanders lead with the example, but what example would have his men if he was stirring? The sentence of before was probably directed more to him than to them. He had to be concentrated "That map?"

The holotable in the center of the CIC lit up and showed the position of the European fleet and the alleged American targets, which were quite far away from them, but still reachable

"Sir, I have an order ... wait, it seems a countdown"

"STONEHENGE?"

"No, it cannot be it ... it's of the Admiral. He says to shoot when it reaches zero"

"On screen. How much time do we have?"

"Fifteen seconds"

"Black alarm, get the men ready to fight"

His XO pressed a black button in his console and, activated by pressure, a siren and a metallic voice alerted the crew of the imminent engagement.

"Ten seconds"

"Final system inspection. Weapons?"

"Five"

"Solutions tested and confirmed. Ready to fire

The bridge fell silent for the last seconds. The tension was palpable.

"Zero" He said finally.

"Fire!"

"Fire" Echoed the Weapons officer.

The ship began to tremble because of the recoil of the combination of missiles and 127 shots that left the ship headed towards the enemy. If Americans were nearby they would certainly see ... or at least hear, since the noise caused by the simultaneous fire of more than thirty ships was enormous.

"Can we confirm if the shots went on target?"

"We need to wait for the baits to be disabled to have a clear view of both radar and sonar. The visual confirmation is obviously impossible for now"

"Wait and pray? I didn't thought that this was in the plan " Observed his XO.

USS BUNKER HILL, NORTHERN ATLANTIC 25/04/2020 12:20

"Nothing on the horizon captain?"

Captain Vance has been on the observation deck of the ship for more than an hour to scan the horizon with his binoculars. Commander Wallace wondered if he had seen something in that day made of low and dark clouds.

"Still nothing commander. How are things on the bridge?" Asked his superior, pushing aside the binoculars from his eyes and leaning against the bar facing his second in command.

"I left Beckett with the order to warn us if something happens. The situation seems under control"

It was an understatement, and they both knew it. It was not under control that fifteen European fighters, using some kind of radar jamming, penetrated deeply into the early warning system of the fleet and launched fifteen missiles that made five centers. This was not under control. But it was also true that Europeans were playing at home.

"The enemy is playing at home sir"

"Even the Germans were playing at home eighty years ago"

"But they lost. I don't like that storm sir"

The captain did not appreciate the change of subject, but he decided to not return on it "For being a storm it is rather strange: I have not seen lightings or heard storm sounds from it"

"Maybe our Jet engines are covering the noise"

The commander was leaning over the balustrade to take a look at the center of the fleet. Images of such large fleets belonged only to the Second World War or Navy recruitment posters. The view was breathtaking: more than thirty ships in arrow formation with the flagships plying the seas that once had belonged to the Vikings. Among all the ships the _Enterprise_ was the one that stood out the most: its modern profile, its enormity, its weapons. It was sure as fort Knox. Nobody would hurt the queen of the oceans.

"Have you noted that the Europeans have retreated towards the storm?" The captain had resumed with the observations.

"Maybe they think that their advanced electronics will make a difference in the fight. I heard that fight in the middle of a storm is not the best for aircraft. However, for captain Holden should be a cinch to get rid of them"

"Did you see the fuselages, commander?" He shook his head "Then you do not know that it is the Yellow squadron. I just hope that they're not a vanguard for the rest of the European strike force, although I doubt they would send their aces for nothing"

"I just hope that they'll expect us after those clouds. If they would attack now it would be a big problem with all the electronic jamming that we have on the radar" Wallace had reached the captain on the railing and was leaning forward. The sea was strangely calm to be near a storm, and there was not much wind. Although it was pulling in the opposite direction, the water should still wrinkling for the blast, but now there was a dead calm.

_"Something's not right" _

There was a noise like a thunderclap.

"Are we that close, or are the planes?" Wallace asked, sharpening the view.

From the bank of clouds came out smoke trails, while other sounds similar to the first echoed in the air.

"What the ...?"

"Enemy fire! Ring the alarm commander!"

The ships near the _Ticonderoga _had already rang their sirens, and Wallace didn't waste any more time "Beckett! Alarm, alarm, we are under attack. Battle stations, I'm coming inside with the captain"

The frigate near the cruiser was hit not by missiles, but by explosive shots that swept the bow, mowing the sailors outdoor and destroying the bow launchers of the ship, which exploded loudly, throwing debris against the surrounding ships.

"Hit the deck!" Wallace shouted, taking the captain's left shoulder and pulling it down while the sheet of metal of observation bridge echoed by the shrapnel and debris that hit it.

The same ship of before was hit a second time by a barrage of missiles, while the CIWS was overloaded by the rain of missiles directed towards the local ships. The machine gun began to shoot anyway, hitting some missiles that exploded in mid-air, but it didn't manage to take them all, since the ship became a succession of explosions throughout its length. It soon lost speed and began to take on water at the bow, while the survivors were desperately trying to leave the ship.

Wallace picked up a little courage and leaned over the railing.

The frigate had now sunk to the middle, and several other ships in the fleet had been affected by a more or less serious damage, judging from the trails of smoke that rose. Aircraft carriers were fortunately intact. Strangely though many shots ended up in the water, rather than on their targets.

_"Did they randomly shot? Impossible, it's not something that they would do!" _

The rain of fire seemed to be decreased in volume, and the commander got up slowly and stared at the horizon, looking for the bank of clouds. He had always believed to have a good view, but had to take the binoculars to confirm his fears. Where there were before the clouds, now there were two European fleets in combat formation. The fear was going to get the better of him, and in a faint voice called the captain.

"Captain?" He called again.

He turned. His CO was lying on the ground and the blood came out from the head.

_"No, no, no" _

He bent over the body and turned it.

_"Shit" _

The collar of his blue uniform and the rest of the face were soaked with blood and yellowish pieces that protruded from the center of the forehead, where a hole with a piece of iron inside contrasted with his pale skin.

_"Nice way to go eh old man? Couldn't you pass me the witness another day?" _

"Lieutenant Commander Beckett to Captain Vance. Please come in"

"Beckett, Wallace here"

"Are you with the captain, sir?"

"Affirmative. Unfortunately he cannot answer"

"Sir?"

"He's dead. Send a medical team"

"Affirmative. It seems that you have been promoted, commander"

"I'm coming to the bridge. You're my new XO Beckett. Don't let me down"

"No, sir"

NEAR THE EUROPEAN FLEET, NORTHERN ATLANTIC 25/04/2020 12:30

"Yellow squadron, watch out: detected five additional bandits, bearing 121, can you take care of them?"

"Affirmative DRACONIS. 5, 7, with me. 9, you have the tactical command of the unit until I return"

"Roger Colonel"

"Form up" The three EF-3000 established a V formation with 12 in the head, 5 to his right and 7 to his left, flying away from the chaos of the battle near the fleet. Their cover was blown and the surprise attack had been successful, but the American fleet was still large and ready to fight. Unfortunately nothing had hit the decks of aircraft carriers, leaving them still capable of launching aircraft.

"DRACONIS, do we have some additional information about those bandits?"

"Affirmative yellow 12. It's the Wildcard squadron"

_"Holden" _

"Roger That"

"Colonel ..."

"It s all right 5, do not worry"

"Tally-ho ! straight in front of us, five F/A-18"

"Aim for the plane to head. Aim for the cockpit compartment"

"Boss?"

"That's an order 7"

"Roger that. Switching to Meteor missiles. Fox 3"

three white contrails broke away from European fighters, directed to the American squadron, which dispersed as soon as missile alarms began to sound. The head element swooped down, while his followers were scattered right and left, throwing chaff to confuse the radar-seeking missiles. One of them, however, was not so lucky and his plane was hit and fell apart.

"One down!" 5 rejoiced.

"Four more to go" Reminded her 7.

Suddenly, alarms began to ring in 12's plane.

_" what?" _

His HMD painted red and the word " missile warning" began to flash in the center of the display. 12 launched chaff and flare while climbing instinctively, bringing his plane almost to 90 degrees and away from the battle. An F-18 pierced the clouds and passed between the two remaining members of the squadron, who departed in search of the other three fighters. The hornet had missed by inches the wing tips of the two European fighters, according to the on-board computer, and this startled 5 and 7. Apparently there was someone as good as the Colonel out there.

"Colonel, careful. The one who is coming after you seems good, and has a emblem with a joker and four aces"

He had to try. The onboard computer provided him with the American frequencies.

"Captain Holden, is that you?"

"Well guessed colonel. I see that you hadn't missed my style"

"When I knew that was you I relaxed. Because you cannot even hit me when I'm just above you "

"We flew together in the middle east. I know your style. And then I wanted to see if you were still able to duel, or you became a wimp?"

"Catch Me" Yellow 12 lighted the after burners, imitated by the captain. For a while they pursued without anyone tried to shoot down the other and without too many evasive maneuvers. 12 had planned to take him over the European fleet, where it would be easier for him to get rid of him, and land on an aircraft carrier in the case had used too much ammunition, since all European planes were STOL and equipped for landing on an aircraft carrier.

"Enough games. Time to get serious" Holden opened fire with the vulcan. The first bullets damaged the rear of the Hurricane, but the colonel was pretty quick to bend to the left and make a 180 °, avoiding the rest of the deadly salvo.

"Warning, warning. To all European forces, we have detected a large number of American fighters approaching"

"American fighters? And from where?" Asked a Navy pilot.

"They're coming from the aircraft carriers and the ocean. They must have refueled in flight"

"Warn Iceland, tell them to throw all available crafts!"

"The weather is too bad! They won't launch any plane with this conditions! They're stuck on the ground!"

"Have you heard Colonel? You'll loose soon"

"Do not declare victory too soon" The colonel decelerated and attempted a cobra, but Holden anticipated him: when 12 tilted his plane during the slowdown, the captain fired another volley of vulcan that hit right in the airframe.

"Argh!" Cried the colonel, diving down after the maneuver to get away.

"Colonel!" Cried the AWACS "5, 7, the colonel is in trouble"

"I'm coming!" Shouted 5 "2, 15, come and lend a hand to 7"

"Roger. DRACONIS, ETA on American planes?"

"They are over their fleet! Prepare for battle"

Holden was not giving up his prey. 12 was going to be his trophy. He was getting close to 12, which was down close to European vessels. Holden decided to avoid the risk of descending and be shot down by the European CIWS, so passed to AIMRAAMs to shoot down 12. Soon he would no longer have rivals. He would be awarded with a medal. The colonel felt that his time was finishing.

_"Goodbye 5. I'm sorry I couldn't d train you more" _

"7, command is yours. I'm sure you'll know you assert"

"Colonel ..." 12 could hear the sadness in the voice of his second. But now his hour had come. Soon he would end the chaff, and Holden would take him out. The hydraulic system had been compromised by the second barrage, there would be no way to eject.

"DRACONIS here, hold on colonel, backup is on it's way ... but what ... connection with the strategic cannon...downloading data... countdown started ...? EMP arriving in 20..19 .. it's STONEHENGE! All crafts, descend below 400 meters high! Colonel, go down, otherwise you will be hit by the explosion! "

The countdown had reached 10. 12 downed the plane as near to the sea as possible.

_"Surprise Holden" _

"5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... Impact, now!"

The colonel looked up from the cockpit: five light blue trails passed through the sky and when the countdown reached the zero exploded, enveloping the battlefield with a blue-whitish blurring light.

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Who will survive the EMP? Who will win? Read part two to find out!

R&R please!


	10. Battle for the North Atlantic 2

Part 2 here! R&R

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CHAPTER 8: BATTLE FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC PART 2

EFS PRAGUE, NORTHERN ATLANTIC 12:51 25/04/2020

"Wow"

Muller was stunned. It was the first time he saw in action STONEHENGE, the much-vaunted super weapon built by the government able to destroy entire airborne fleets and to rain death on earth as much as could a satellite of the SLAMS, and propaganda was right on the capabilities of the cannon.

Up to ten seconds ago radars onboard signaled the approach of a hundred american aircraft from the American continent who, if they had reached the heart of the air battle, that the stretch of ocean between the two fleets, could turned the situation in their favor. Then suddenly the screens had displayed a firing order from the cannon and a countdown of twenty seconds.

Through the periscope the captain had been able to observe several aircraft descend in the last ten seconds and then, like a bolt from the blue, five blue trails cut the sky and their tips exploded in five blue spheres, which blurred the sky for a moment during the explosion. After the brightness of the flash intensity dropped dozens of planes were falling dead into the ocean, their systems dead from the EMP blast. Although he had not activated protocol 17 the European fleet was not affected by the explosion as well as the American, who had stopped shooting for a moment, to look at the effects of the large blue spheres.

The European fighters were climbing above the minimal altitude to avoid the EMP, and were regaining air supremacy, no longer threatened by the Americans.

"Captain!"

His communications officer was calling him.

"What is it Marchand?"

"I have a new order from the admiral: it orders submarines to regroup and make a foray into the American fleet until the radar baits still work. We are in a group with the EFS _Rome_ and _Copenhagen_. Our target will be the right flank of the American fleet "

"Wolf Pack" commented his XO.

"Vaccani, plot a course. Delgado, coordinate with him. Leave the sonar in passive and do the triangulations needed to identify enemy ships"

"Yes, sir"

"Marchand, open a strategic channel with the _Rome_ and the _Copenhagen_. Engines, activate hydrogen cells, mask the radiation of the reactor. I want to be completely invisible to their submarines as we approach. Weapons, prepare torpedoes in the bow tubes and mines in the aft's. Can we launch missiles? "

"No, sir. It seems that the enemy is disturbing short range locks. And these seems to be the frequencies of their new RAZOR system"

"Take up a sample and send it to the command. Do not try to have a missile lock, I do not want us to get discovered like the last time"

"Yes, sir! Sir, we have an open channel with the captains of the submarines _Rome_ and _Copenhagen_"

"I'll take it in the briefing room. Battle stations"

Captain Muller left the control room, now illuminated more by the blue holographic screens than from the red combat light. He had not yet managed to get used to this craze of computers on every military ship that he had seen. When his grandfather told him of the times of the war, he was always fascinated by the accurate descriptions of all hands, the lights and buttons of which his grandfather remembered. If he had to tell some of his descendants his experiences of war, he would just say that the room was full of screens that gave off so much light that he wondered how his crew was able to bear it.

His thoughts were interrupted at his entry into the briefing room, a small compartment with a table, ten chairs and a screen. The room was rarely used by the officers, who preferred to meet in the control room or in the cafeteria, but it was very popular among the navy rifleman during their briefings. The captain positioned himself in front of the screen which lit up and divided into two parts, each with a captain.

"Well gentlemen, we have a few minutes to work out a plan of attack"

USS BUNKER HILL NORTHERN ATLANTIC, 25/04/2020 13:07

"Damage report!" Wallace shouted, as he clung to a handle to not be thrown to the ground by the shock wave

"A missile hit our bow, strong shock waves. No serious damage, the leak is small and has hit much above the waterline" replied the weapons officer.

"Wounded?"

"It's not known yet, but a medical team is rushing on the spot"

_"If people continue to die, who will sail the damn ship?" _

"The MK 45 can still shoot right?"

"Affirmative. The damage has not affected the ammunition bay or the charging trolley. Ready to fire and waiting for targets"

"Prepare the Mk 41 also, launch a salvo against the European frigate in front of us. Are the electronics still working?"

"Yes, sir, we have no troubles since eight minutes ago"

"Is RAZOR still active?"

"Affirmative, jammers in action. We'll give them a hard time in locking on us"

Even if it was not true, since the Europeans had an electronics so advanced as to be envied even by a spaceship: with their systems they could track targets up to fifteen kilometers away, had systems that power down at the exact moment when the EMP wave touched the vessel and then automatically reactivate. Also their targeting systems were very advanced.

But they too had a few tricks up their sleeve.

Although the blue flash had destroyed most of their planes, ships were able to activate the RAZOR system, which prevented close range lock on and made it difficult also on medium and long range and the aircraft carriers and their escorts were provided with electromagnetic shields: in essence, ship systems would emit jamming signals, just like the land ones, able to confuse the enemy electronics so as to deflect the missiles to CIWS death zones or even overload them and destroying them in the air or shutting their systems and let them fall into the ocean unarmed, while the cannons wouldn't be a threat without a lock. The jamming will persist until it's source won't eliminated, and to do this they would have to sink the aircraft carriers and their escorts.

"Firing solution on the European frigate _Jena_ are ready sir. Awaiting orders"

"Tear them into pieces, Lieutenant!"

"Aye aye sir. Fire"

The bridge was shaken by the recoil of the Mk 45 and the launch a salvo from the aft launcher, headed to the ill-fated European frigate.

The Europeans were proving fierce opponents, for being a young nation. Wallace had to admit it, they could put up a nice battle plan. It was also true that some of the greatest military minds were born here, so one should not expect less from the current strategists. According to reports of a few minutes ago, almost a hundred aircraft had been destroyed along a front of 12 kilometers. It was the first time he saw something like that. A bolt from the blue, carrying EMP death and destruction.

He had heard on the radio the pilots who were trying desperately to regain control of their aircraft, which fell into the ocean like stones. But he wasn't able to do anything to save those poor pilots.

But he would do everything possible to avenge them.

"Commander!" The sonar officer's voice made him leave his thoughts. The commander looked away from the screen in the middle of the CIC and turned to his lieutenant.

"What's going on Mike?" He said. He still had to get used to the formalities to be captain, but the crew was responding positively to his attitude.

"It seems that the sonar jammings have ceased"

"Radar?"

"Even here, sir. We can see European ships"

That was a good thing. Now they could play almost at par.

"Great, stay alert"

"Sir!" It was Beckett "The Kennedy has been hit by torpedoes!"

"_Torpedoes? What the hell are doing our Hunter Killer?" _

"Sonar! Check if there are submarines!"

EFS PRAGUE, NORTHERN ATLANTIC 13:24 25/05/2020

"Target: transport ship. Distance: five hundred meters" Delgado sent the coordinates of the ship full of marines, placed in the rear of the fleet safe from heavy fighting that were taking place later, to the weapons officer that would calculate the launch trajectory for the torpedoes .

"Torpedoes ready?"

"Torpedoes ready captain!"

"Launch"

"Launch" The echoed the XO

"Torpedoes on the target in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... now"

"Target hit! It's sinking"

"Mark: the _Prague_ has destroyed another ship. Vaccani, get us out of here, but take a longer route, bring us a few kilometers away. I do not want surprises"

"Yes, sir, returning to the fleet, bearing change, turning to 130. Removal of three kilometers in progress, ready for turning"

"Not bad for today" Whispered his XO "A frigate and a transport ship. Our battle record is improving"

"Soon we'll have ourselves a reputation as the submarines of the last war, Stanislaw"

"Sir!" It was Marchand "I just got a message from the _Rome_, says the _Stockholm_ sank the USS _John F. Kennedy"_

"Impossible"

"Yet it is true, sir. I am monitoring communications between submarines, it seems that it really happened"

"Did we lost someone?"

"Yes" His tone had gone darker "The _Riga _and _Sofia_ were sunk to allow the _Stockholm_ to complete it's mission"

SOL SYSTEM, EARTH SPACE, SLAMS US SPACE CONTROL FACILITY LIMA-2 13:36 (ICELAND TIME) 25/04/2020

There was only one word to describe the space: space.

Immense, empty yet full. What once for the man was an impossible dream was now a common place for scientific space stations, orbital weapons systems and their control centers.

The station Lima-2 was responsible for the battle zone of Iceland, along with Lima-1. Loaded with twelve tungsten bars long twenty feet and wide one, it was the exact opposite of the European HELLS which used a THEL direct energy laser to hit its target.

The station was controlled by the air force, and Technical Sergeant Baker was currently busy watching the satellite feed of the battle for Iceland, along with his companion, airman first class Kent. They would rather watch baseball or basketball by satellite channels, but the command had decided that the battle was more important than the orbital satellite connections, so they cut all non-military channels until the end of the battle.

It was a very intense battle: a European frigate, identified as EFS _Jena_, had just been hit and sunk by a burst coming from the cruiser _Bunker Hill_, which had been damaged by another European cruiser. Baker had stopped to take account of the names for some time, while Kent was thrilled to see those ships exchanging white trails with explosions at the end.

The screen went black and a white writing appeared on it.

_"Firing orders"_

The station commander, Captain O'Hara appeared from the tailgate.

"I'm sorry to interrupt people, but we have a launch order"

"We're getting it now ma'am. Kent, put the coordinates into the computer. Load three bars"

"Yes, Sergeant"

O'Hara approached Baker. The sergeant felt a tremor that struck him every time he saw the captain. He has been in space for two months now, and she was one of only three women in the station, in addition to sergeants Logan and Fletcher. He stood staring at her for a moment.

"Sergeant?"

_"Oops" _

"Excuse me, ma'am, but for a second I thought that the left panel was flashing dangerously"

"Oh, for a moment I thought you were staring at the ribbons on my chest" she replied, not very convinced.

Kent barely suppressed a laugh for the fool that the sergeant had just done. Baker threw a glance challenging him to laugh to try to breathe in space without a supply of oxygen.

"I would never permit to do such a thing, captain. I am ready to follow orders," he said, while on the screen appeared the order to fire.

"Key"

They pulled out the keys and put them in the panel at the left of the sergeant.

"3" O'Hara began to count " 2... 1 ... launch"

The coverage of the red button disappeared and the captain pressed it.

No one noticed the launch: no recoil, no flame, no noise. They understood that they had launched when the bars were in front of the windows of the fire control station.

_"May God forgive me. I threw something that will kill hundreds of men over there" _

"Are you all right, Sergeant?" Churched Kent. The captain looked at him puzzled.

"Yes, Kent. Don't worry. I'm fine, ma'am"

She put a hand on his shoulder and tapped twice. She had understood.

Maybe she felt the same thing, after all.

NORTHERN ATLANTIC, 25/04/2020 13:36

Six bars of tungsten pierced the atmosphere, even inflamed by the heat due to the transition from space to atmosphere, directed to the European fleet.

The aircraft carrier _Josef Radetski_ was hit on the flight deck. The heat from the impact partially fused the bridge and the two Rafale parked on it. The shot pierced the ship from side to side and sank in the ocean, it's run now stop by the bridges that had to cross and the wall of water that awaited it at the end.

While the aircraft carrier cracked in half, two bars hit two European ships, evaporating the hull on impact and creating shock waves strong enough to raise waves such as to reverse a ship nearby. Of the last three bars, two hit the ocean, evaporating the water and raising waves that swept ships nearby, and some of them were turned upside down by the force of the waves. The last bar lacked the _Grande Casse _slightly, hitting the destroyer _Loire_ but investing the cruiser with waves that threatened to capsize the ship.

EFS GRANDE CASSE, NORTHERN ATLANTIC 13:27 04/25/2020

"My God"

"Down the stabilizers!" Shouted Gardere.

"Stabilizers down, strong shock waves!"

"Hold something!"

The crew clung as hard as possible at their stations or something solid enough to keep them standing. The hull began to shake quickly from right to left, with enough force to knock down the sailors.

Gardere stood up clinging to the edge of the holographic map a and putting strength on his arms to get up. His head whistled and when he touched his left temple he felt ache. He must have taken a tremendous blow.

"Damage report!"

"The external glasses have exploded! Several injured on the bridges. The helicopter crashed into the water, the outside decks are swept by the waves. The 4th propeller is gone, the left side is studded with debris, torpedo tubes damaged .. . I can't believe in that "

"What?"

"The left side is deforming due to the heat of the explosion"

"Navigation" Gardere had operated the intercom between the CIC and the bridge "Turn around"

"Sir?"

"The ship is badly damaged and unless you want to die this is the right time to leave!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Captain, I have a message from Admiral Galli"

"What does it say?"

"All ships damaged have to withdraw to Iceland. The ships still able to fight, fighters and submarines must mount a rearguard action while they withdraw. The air force also has been able to launch anti-ship aircraft from Iceland, where it seems that the weather is improving "

"Give the new coordinates to the navigation. I'll go up on the observation deck to assess the damage"

FEMF HQ, AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND, EF 13:40 04/25/2020

"Kowalski"

"Admiral, Giannopoulus here"

"Admiral, I heard that the battle is going well"

"I would not say that,sir"

Kowalski straightened on the chair "Why?"

"The enemy has used a WMD on our fleet: they used their SLAMS systems to hit our ships to give an edge to their fleet"

"Casualties?"

"We lost 50% of the ships. 20% is severely damaged and the remaining thirty is still able to fight. The _Radetski_ was sunk by the first salvo. No Survivors"

"I can't believe that we've lost an aircraft carrier!" Now Kowalski was standing, angry "Were ECMs working or what?"

"Sir, certainly ECM jammers wouldn't prevent the attack on the fleet"

"Of course! We had overshadowed the entire area after 12.45 AM to let Galli perform his plan!"

"To enable the success of the plan we had to disable radar and sonar baits. They were interfering with our targeting systems"

"I don't care! What the hell Admiral! I had approved a plan, not another"

"No plan survives contact with the enemy, sir"

"Do not quote me Eisenhower. I trusted you, Eusebius, I trusted you! Send me all the information in your possession, Pérreau will not be satisfied. Take the first flight to Paris and pass down the command to Galli"

"But, sir ..."

"No buts. I am authorizing a WMD attack to cover the retreat. Tell Galli to leave a rear guard and retreat to the island. This is all, Admiral"

Kowalski hung up before his interlocutor could respond and quickly dialed another number.

"Please Identify"

"Admiral Boris Kowalski, from 56,492 to 10,394-BK, CINCMF"

"ID confirmed. To who do you want to talk, Admiral?"

"General Hohol, please"

"Admiral Kowlaski, Hohol here, what can I do for you?"

"We have a situation in Iceland and we would like to use your toys if possible"

"Tell us what you need to be hit and how, Admiral"

SOL SYSTEM, ABOVE EARTH 13:53 04/25/2020

The HELLS platform known as Delta-6 was committed to cover the satellites in its sector from possible missile attacks when the remote control from the ground inserted new directives for the satellite of billions of euro. The left hydrogen booster lit for a moment, tipping the platform for the optimum firing angle for it's new mission.

Once it reached the angle, the right booster lit to counter the inertia resulting from those on the left, effectively stabilizing the satellite. The onboard computer performed the calculations needed to shoot, and when it finished, a red button was pressed by the operator on the planet.

A beam of blue light departed from the HELLS.

Not directed toward the planet, but towards a target in orbit.

Those of Lima-1 and 2 became aware of the laser beam only when it was too late. In an instant, the control station and the weapons one were vaporized by the high temperatures of the beam.

NORTHERN ATLANTIC 13:54 25/04/2020

"One carrier lost and several ships too... I can't believe that this is what remains of the second and third fleets" Whispered 7, sadness in his voice.

"Colonel, it's time to go .."

Yellow 12 did not answer, but bowed his plane left, imitated by his five wingmen. Under him there was what was left of the European fleet: Most in flames, few are able to fight and the remaining retreating.

They had lost, there was nothing they could do. They had done their best and did everything possible to win, but it was not enough. The Americans had played dirty, and neither they could counteract this game.

"To all units, AWACS Draconis here, orders from admirals Galli and Giannopoulus: disengage and withdraw to Iceland. All units able to fight assemble a rearguard or hide the escape of the others. Yellow squadron, you have permission to disengage from the battlefield and head to Iceland for rearming and refueling "

"Yellow 12, roger AWACS. We have done everything possible right?"

"Not even you can intercept a tungsten bar at four times the speed of sound, Colonel. You've done everything that was in your power. Leave the rest of the rearguard"

"Roger. Yellow Squadron, restore formation"

"Colonel? We'll take our revenge. Sooner or later"

"I hope so, 5. Otherwise the war will end very soon"

"Colonel, a radio message for you"

"From whom?"

"Unknown sender"

"Patch it through"

"Colonel!"

_"Holden? How the hell did he survived?" _

"Did you think that STONEHENGE could destroy me? Oh, it takes more. Although today I almost won, the debt is not closed. Not at all. We both know how it will end: you or me. The next time you may not be so lucky . Wildcard 1 cout "

"Bastard! How did he survived?" churched 5.

"Colonel, how do you know such a person?"

"It was a long time ago. At that time, our countries were allies, and he and I flew together. But then towards the end of the conflict something changed, and since then we were no longer the same"

"Roger"

_"At least that's what I keep telling me" _

UNKNOWN LOCATION 19:00 25/04/2020

"It seems to have started," said the man in the black suit.

"It is on schedule?" Asked the one sitting.

"Smooth as silk. I would say that phase one has been successfully completed" replied a woman dressed in blue.

"Then we will begin phase two. Tell Grun to say that to our man in the Kremlin. And put back in the field Viktoria"

"Yes, boss. How do we deal with the Europeans and the Americans?"

"Contact Kowalski, suggested to a solution to the problem that has placed to us. Tell him to discuss it with his colleagues and to meet in Paris with ours. You will be with them"

"Yes, sir. With permission, I will go now"

"Go Noir. Keep us informed"

The man dressed in black walked out the door.

"Azul, contact McDaniel, tell him to put pressure on President Kennedy and for the DEFENDER and European plans"

"Very well" The woman dressed in blue left the room.

"They're gone. You can come out"

Another woman, dressed in purple walked out of the secret door on the western side of the room.

"By when Ganjin will be operational, Viola?"

"Two more months to gather the necessary resources and establish an effective network"

"Hmmm ... what about the green brigades?"

"The cannon fodder is always ready. Where do we send them?"

"Start of operations against small local cartels in South America, Africa and Asia. You know the procedure"

"Yes, Grey"

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Who are this mysterious figures? How can they control the war? Are they the real threat? Stay tuned to find out


	11. Adaption

Here I return! It's been a while since I posted a long chapter. Now I'll introduce some long term missions (Like the occupation of England) and short term operations, but I don't want to spoil too much, so let the reading begin.

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CHAPTER 10: ADAPTION

RIPON, YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND, UK / IR Conquered TERRITORY 30/04/2020 15:45

The HQ of the third company of the 3rd battalion of the 21st Infantry Division was located in the town of Ripon, Yorkshire. The convoy carrying captain Eiker had left two hours ago from York heading to the city. Eiker's vanguards had set up an HQ in the police station, while the rest of the unit would be camped outside the city, where they were building the barracks to house 250 European soldiers that were coming. An open space had been used for storing tanks and another for landing helicopters. The firsts vanguards had already prepared the administrative structures and checkpoints along the main roads and entrances to the city.

Eiker looked out the window of his MOWAG Eagle, to the monotonous landscape of the British countryside, consisting of boundless expanses of fields, forests and some sporadic houses. Besides him Provov was at the wheel, while in the rear seats there were some bags of the two soldiers, who, being the highest-ranking soldier and officer, enjoyed certain privileges although a lieutenant would still have been able to give orders to Provov. Behind them some Dardo II IFVs and before them other Jeeps. Up in the rear tanks and slower vehicles assigned to the unit. Given the scarcity of men of the division due to the high losses sustained in Paris, the company was formed for th 65% of recruits who would have to learn quickly if they wanted to survive the infamous British partisans.

"So, sir, what do you think of our little "vacation"?" Churched Provov.

"I'm glad you think so, sergeant"

"Excuse me sir, did not mean to express relief about the fact that we are not fighting in Portugal or Romania"

"I was joking sergeant "

"Ah"

"Do not worry. Should be a simple thing. We arrive, we put the population in line, we earn their trust and respect and if the partisans attack, we call an airstrike on the natural reserve"

"Well said sir. Let's show them what awaits them in the Federation"

"Look there, Sergeant. Ripon"

"Seems that we have arrived" Said Provov, while exiting from the highway.

The convoy was divided on the outskirts of the village: lorries would pass out of the city, which was the shortest route to their deposits, while the jeeps would pass through the city. Mattias noticed two soldiers in combat uniform wearing the armband with the European flag, which was made compulsory for the occupation forces, in a show of patriotism for not lower morale in a war that was fine one day and the other bad.

There were few people in the city, apart from the usual old people walking around and some guys on the street, who admired the convoy, full of excitement, admiration and resentment.

They went through Ripon until the group of the captain stopped in front of a brick building with the words "European Federation Army 21st Infantry Division, 3rd Batallion, 3rd Company HQ", in front of which stood a IFV, some soldiers and a machine gun nest on the roof. The Jeep stopped at the door and Eiker, in utility uniform, opened the door and greeted a young staff sergeant.

"Sergeant Silbermann" Eiker said, reading the man's name tag on his flack jacket.

"Captain. Would you please follow me?" He said, beckoning him to do so with a quick and formal gesture.

They entered the building and the sergeant began to show the property "Here on the ground floor we will maintain the usual police function in place with our MP's. Upstairs we have the officers offices and yours" They went up the stairs "I recommend to go out with a bulletproof vest and a gun, you're never safe here. I have to go to control my men, your new attendant is waiting behind the door. Sir "He made a military salute.

"Skim well, Sergeant," Eiker answered with a greeting.

Mattias opened the door marked on the glass "CPT. MATTIAS EIKER, EUROPEAN FEDERAL ARMY 21ST INFANTRY DIVISION 3RD Batallion, 3RD COMPANY" entering the anteroom of his office, where a woman wearing the service uniform stood waiting .

"Captain!" She snapped to attention.

"Rest, Corporal. Name and rank"

"Isabel Delgado, Corporal, logistic corps"

"Well, Isabel. Is there something I should know?"

"Yes, sir. Sergeant Silbermann has left this for you" handed him a sheet of paper, on which was written the address of Eiker's residence and instructions for sergeant major Provov.

"All right. Corporal, I advise you to wear a combat uniform here. Never know, and then we're not in York. That skirt might give you annoyance"

"I won't comply sir, even if I liked that skirt"

"Good. I'm going to see my office tomorrow. You have the day off" Mattias came out from the hall and returned to MOWAG parked outside the station.

"Then, sir. Nice office?"

"Telling the truth, I haven't seen it. Put this address into your GPS"

"Got it captain. Have you seen our new toys back there, in the HQ's boxes?"

"Unfortunately, no. What did you see?"

"A couple of Leopards"

"In town?" Mattias was surprised. He believed that the tanks were out of town.

"Yes, I asked a sergeant and told me that they are there in case of immediate need. I wonder what will ever happen in this cold place"

"By the way, I forgot: It's going to rain a lot here"

"Thanks for reminding me sir" Said Provov half jokingly while driving the car out of the parking lot.

PALACE ROAD, RIPON, EF CONQUERED TERRITORY, 30/04/2020 17:10

The SUV of the commander had arrived in front of a magnificent three-story brick mansion, which was pointed them by the soldiers on board of a Puma 6x6 armored vehicle patrolling the long road to the junction with North Street.

The jeep stopped along the road that gave entrance, and the two got out of the vehicle, only with flak jackets and patrol hats, not to alarm anyone. Mattias climbed the stairs and walked to the entrance.

"_They'll be drinking tea_" he thought "_Just a good time to disturb them. I'll remember it next time_" Provov preceded him and gave a light press on the doorbell button. The two Europeans putted in waiting position for someone to open the door. After ten minutes, Provov seemed a bit annoyed by the lack of respect and started to try to ring again, or to break the door, but the captain stopped him "Maybe they're not home"

"And the Range Rover that was out here?"

"Maybe they're finishing the tea"

"Maybe it's a form of resistance"

"I suggest that we should wait. Let's show them that we are here to stay and will stay there. Especially since this is our land"

"Yes, sir"

Eiker heard voices inside the house and a slight banging of cutlery and dishes. Then the door opened with a creak and a middle-aged woman appeared in the doorway.

"Yes?" The woman churcehd. Her voice was trembling.

"I'm captain Mattias Eiker, 3rd company. I was told that my sergeant has made arrangements for my accommodation with you" reassured Mattias in a calm and polite tone, in his usual English with a hint of Scandinavian accent.

"Let's say he made an arrangement is a big word"

Provov imediately gave the woman a killer glance and tried to shout something at her or to smash the door, but his friend preceeded him.

"Has he been rude? If so, I will take action imediately"

"Oh, no, for charity. He has only said that you would have stayed here. Maybe it was a bit blunt, but it's nothing. Do not stay here, come in please "

The duo entered the lobby, where the woman told them to wait. The floor was covered with carpet, and the walls decorated with fine paintings, which shone elegance.

"Beautiful" Noticed Provov "I do not know you, but I grew up in a modest apartment in Budapest with two sisters. I find this luxury a bit excessive, for maybe only two people"

"The rich are like that, Sergeant. You'll get used to"

"And you sir?"

"Since I have to, I will"

A door opened and revealed a man, also middle-aged, and two girls, more or less the same age as Mattias.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen" Began the man "You must excuse us, but we were finishing our afternoon tea"

"I do not consider it a good reason to make wait two high-ranking representatives of your new government" Warned Provov.

"It 's perfectly understandable, Sergeant Major Dimitri Provov III" Admonished the commander, to ingratiate himself with the occupants of the house, "We do not want that the British abandon the traditions that have allowed them to create a world empire. After all, it would be like if the Germans would renounce Oktoberfest, right? "

"Yes, sir" The sergeant had to nod.

"Going back to us, you were saying?"

"Oh, right. I am Donald Baxter, this is my wife, Elizabeth, and these are our daughters, Blythe and Laura. Our son Andrew apologizes, but can not be present for reasons of major force. Maybe you know something, captain, but I do not want to bother you "

"_Or he is a POW or was interned_" Thought the Europeans "I am captain Mattias Eiker, from Bergen, Norway, and this big guy here is my friend, Sergeant Major Dimitri Provov, from Budapest, Hungary"

"Pleased to meed toy" said the sergeant.

"Sergeant, will you please go out and start unloading my car? I'll handle my luggages personally"

"Sir, yes, sir" Provov Snapped to attention and rushed out from the house.

"You must excuse him for his brusque. We've been through a lot together, maybe he went through a lot more, and was disappointed that they didn't send us to fight the Americans or the Russians" Said Eiker, as he shook the hands of the family "Is there someone else I should know?"

"Tonight at dinner the servants, but do not worry. Only three people"

"Come on, captain. I'll show you the house" offered the wife, and Mattias gladly accepted.

"_Well hell, I hope they do not hate me so much. Surely for his brother, but the two girls have something. Maybe I'm biased, but you never know. I'll do everything possible to prevent them from becoming partisans_"

VISEU, PORTUGAL, EF 02/05/2020 11:30

"Andrea!"

Germini looked from the holotable to Colonel Fleisher.

"What's up Robert? Any news from the EID?"

"They want you in the communications room. They say it's important. Maybe we have a hint on Col. Brown's remaining tanks"

"I hope. That bastard has been evading us for a week. Come with me, will you?"

The general left the table and walked out of the mobile command post, escorted by his deputy. The situation had deteriorated rapidly in recent days: The Americans had landed in Arrabida and Porto and had quickly opened a breach in the European lines in Portugal. Three divisions were trapped in Lisbon, what remained of the federal forces in Portugal continued to slow down the American advance in the mountainous areas with guerrilla warfare. Motorways in Spain were clogged with convoys of reinforcements headed to the border. Enforcers were present with three battalions, two of which had been reduced to 15% of their total strenght and repatriated, while the 45th Tactical lost "only" 43% of its total forces. They had stopped the Americans three times: the first the 23rd, the second the 25th and the third yesterday, slowing the advance. They had to hold the line until the 1st Special Operations had arrived to relieve them, along with the 20th and 22nd assault and armored. The doctors were moving the bodies from the frontline hospitals to morgue vans or ambulances. More men died of wounds than in sustained in combat. The whole camp was a unique move of men and women, who were dressed as if they were going in the forefront. The only exceptions were the doctors who wore the service uniform and overall, smeared with blood from the torso up. They had destroyed an American division yesterday, and had not fully recovered, but they had showed Americans that ten thousand Enforcer (the 45th and 19 th, with the actual reduced to 50%), were worth twenty thousand Americans, and still had. It was a great victory, even if a JSF unit led by Col. Brown gave them a hard time in gaining tue upper hand during the fight.

They entered the communications room and the general went into the main room, protected by a large Faraday cage, preventing electronic signals from being detected. He pressed a button on the monitor and General Du Bankole appeared to him in the forehead.

"Amadou" Germini stood to attention.

"Andrea. Great job in the last two weeks. Americans are slowing down and maybe they will stop at the borders of Spain"

"What about the other fronts?"

"The Russians were arrested in Poland and Romania, although large parts of Hungary and Slovakia are still in their hands. Iceland ground forces are battling fiercely with the Americans. We have a rate of more than 3,000 deaths per day up there, but the same is true for Americans "

"New orders?"

"At the meeting of 27th we decided that since the situation is now stable, and we can start giving licenses"

"So I'm done?"

"Not yet. Between three days, the 45th will enjoy a week's leave in northern Italy, in Milan. Visit, rest, and then fight better than before. Okay?"

"Yes, sir"

Andrea turned off the connection and left the room.

"Fleisher"

"Here I am"

"Tell the boys that we go on leave in two days in Italy"

"Yes sir! You'll finally present your sisters to me, right general?" Fleisher happily (and mockingly) said.

"Keep dreaming my young aide"

THE KREMLIN, MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 02/05/2020 18:12

"Izotov"

"It's agent Milanich, general"

"Oleg. Have you discovered something interesting?"

"Maybe. Half of the people in the file seemed suspect to my superiors. We started tailing them and we found things that we might have preferred to not know, but don't worry, nothing against national securety. But we noticed that major Irina Stankova travels frequently in a bar, where she meets a caucasian man dressed elegantly, and or they speak, or she gives him something, or they go out together "

"You have made them follow by one of your agents?"

"We put four cars behind the couple, and we found out that they go into a downtown skyscraper. We did the usual pressures and found that to be on the twentieth floor, but we do not know in which apartment"

"I know that Stankova is married. Maybe he's the lover"

"I do not think, no, definitely. They do not act like a adulterous couple"

"Then we have an informant and a spy"

"Maybe she does not know how to work for the Americans or the Europeans"

"Are you suggesting to not arrest her for treason? Maybe just because she is a woman?" Izotov was getting angry.

"No, no, absolutely not, I'm just saying that maybe she does not know who she really works for, that's all"

"You do your job, I do mine. Milanich, I expect a call tomorrow at the same time, with new information. I'll Think about the rest. I'm sending you other dossiers. Work on them"

"Do not forget that you are working for us, General"

"I work for Russia, agent. Do not forget it. Never" He hung up and putted his hands on his temples and started massaging them.

_"A war wasn't enough...I also have to deal with a probable spy and an incompetent agent only willing to do a big shot...there's just one way to confirm that Irina's a spy, and I know who can do that"_ He pressed the intercom

"Noskov"

"Yes, sir" Answered the intercom

"Get the car ready in half an hour"

"Yes, sir"

He picked up the phone.

"Zubov, it's me. Is colonel Kirilenko still working for you?"

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So,so,so. Eiker and Provov are going to learn how to survive to a (not yet) combat occupying operation, and Fourth Echelon is going to make things messy for them. Izotov is back and Germini will return to his homeland with the batallion for some good rest.

Tell me what do you think!

R&R

Stay tuned!


	12. Hidden Menace

Here I return, with a new, unpredicted chapter. Enjoy!

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CHAPTER 10: HIDDEN MENACE

THE KREMLIN, MOSCOW, RUSSIA 1030 18/05/2020

"General? Colonel Kirilenko has arrived"

"Send him in, Noskov," replied Izotov, while preparing a bottle of vodka and two glasses to accommodate the guest.

Colonel Alexei Kirilenko was the commander of the 36th battalion Spetsnaz Guards Brigade (SGB) batallion and like many Spetsnaz was a former officer of the paratroopers. He was born in 1979 in Nižinij Novgorood from a prominent family in the party. He grew up during the 80s, and like many young Russians of that period, he began to feel the wind of change in the last years of the twentieth century. His older brother, Piotr, was shot down and killed by the Americans in 1999 during a secret mission with the best Russian pilots in Serbia to assess the skills of the Western fighters and was under the command of Colonel Markov, the only one who has ever managed to shoot down an F-117. Piotr was aboard a MiG-29 Fulcrum, and during a night flight was shot down by an F-15. His kill helped to obtain important data, but his death was a blow to his brother. Alexei did the officer school and climbed the ranks of the SGB in the next two decades, up to now be sitting in front of the supreme commander.

"Sit down, Colonel. Would you like something to drink?" Izotov offered him his right hand, which Kirilenko shook, instead of making a military salute.

"So, do we have a result?" He asked, handing him a glass.

Alexei drank his vodka and put on the table a bag of brown leather and gold belts, opened it and took out a file, handing it to Izotov.

"We have this, general"

Izotov analyzed the thirty pages of the file with a critical eye, occasionally lifting his eyes from the leaves to watch the colonel.

"Alpena?"

"Exactly"

"I will submit to the President and to the other generals as soon as I can. Remain available in any time"

"Yes, sir" Kirilenko stood up and saluted.

Izotov was left alone in the room and was able to resume to examine the file called "Operation 400", or the invasion of the United States.

The war in Europe had reached a stalemate: the Americans were bogged down in the Iberian peninsula, while they were unable to break into Germany and south-eastern Europe. The front was stopped by two weeks now and, according to SVR analysis, America was the easiest target to hit: with two-thirds of their forces away from the country, deployed in South America, Europe and the Pacific, there were still very few military to defend the United States.

Maybe they believed to be safe but their lack of official support to the united kingdom had lost the confidence of the Commonwealth in their "big brother", especially in a state that interested to the Russians: Canada. They were making arrangements for the use of some old Canadian air bases as FOBs before conquering a runway in America, and the local authorities would have covered the armored columns directed towards the border.

He picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Vanya, I have something on hand"

"Something that is hot, Sergei?"

"Very. Convenes the high command, I have something that would please them"

STRIKE FORCE ONE, JAMES BAY, CANADA, 24/05/2020 05:00

"Let's go, go, go, go, go!" Major Boris Dostoevsky was running along the bridge of the amphibious assault ship _Admiral Apraksin_, rolling his left arm with the elbow bent at 90 ° and with the index who followed the same direction of rotation of the arm, motioning to his subordinates to move.

The blades of at least 15 transport helicopters and gunships began to roll from the deck of the ship, laden with Spetsnaz ready to make a quick attack on the Alpena Air Force Reserve Base, Michigan. The goal of the commandos was to secure the runway as soon as possible and defend it long enough to allow the An-22s to start landing tanks and heavy equipment in anticipation of the arrival of the main contingent. During the week, they were able to move a small invasion force in some of the old airfields that Canadians had made available to them, and they would have used as a safe staging area until they had conquered enough territory in the USA. According to the analysis, there wouldn't be any resistance from the local police force, and the National Guard would not react, at least for the moment. The weather forecast predicted rain all day, in fact in the now increasingly clear in the darkness, could be distinguished schools of dark clouds.

The super carrier of the group, _Vladimir Putin _class, the _Admiral Chicagov_, was launching some Su-33SD, or super sea Flanker to provide cover to the strike force. Above them, at 20,000 feet, there was a Beriev A-50 AWACS, escorted by six MiG-29MK. The plane was to disrupt the American radar to allow the infiltration of the task force, which would otherwise have been discovered and shoot down by the F-15.

At the command of the operation there was Colonel Alexei Kirilenko, embarked on the aircraft carrier, waiting to begin the attack.

"Red Moon to assault unit, green light, I repeat: green light"

"Here Big Bear, roger. Heard the commander, pilot? Lift this helicopter!"

The invasion had begun.

CANADA-US BORDER, NORTH AMERICA, 0956 24/05/2020

"Molot 1 to AWACS, entering the United States in twenty seconds. Helicopter flight coming in three minutes"

"Roger Molot 1. Advanced radar jamming in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... jamming!"

On the HMD (Helmet Mounted Display) of the Su-33SD pilots appeared the word "Jamming", which flashed on the screen for a few seconds and then disappear. NORAD radar over Michigan was being disturbed by the ECM started from the A-50, which would cover the tracks of the infiltrators until they occupied the basis for putting a virus in the network to obscure entirely the north western United States: a worm that would be included in USAF network and would attack satellites and long-range radars, darkening them just enough to allow the invasion force to establish a beachhead in America.

" Molot Squadron, I've got two F-16 fifty miles from you. Pass to the the long-range missiles and shoot them down"

"Roger that. 3,4 continue the escort. 2, follow me and lock on to a target" the commander went to the AA-12A Adder long range radar-seeking missiles and waited for the prolonged sound of engagement that did not wait.

"Fox 3"

"Fox 3" Echoed 2.

Captain Jarrod Carter, of the Michigan air national guard was on patrol with his wingman, Lieutenant Lucy Hammond, near the Canadian border as was the custom from the beginning of the war: the fear of a small-scale infiltration of military aircraft from Canada grew up a few points from the refusal of the U.S. to officially support the UK, avoiding to give further support to "A country already dead and decayed" as president Becerra said.

Normally, the patrol would be air force business, but with the pilots overseas for the war, it had fallen to the National Guard. Today he would not open the dealer before the afternoon than that envisaged a quiet day of service.

"Uh, Captain? On my radar is gone"

"Even my own. Command, Hawk 1 here, I have some problems with the radar"

"Hawk 1, CRTC here, sure there are no problems with the airplane?"

"Negative, also my wingman has the same problem"

"Maybe it's the weather. Maybe the magnetism of lightning is interfering with the system"

"Roger that, but I do not trust to fly with radar offline. Let's go back down"

"Roger ..." The transmission changed into white noise.

"That's weird ... maybe the storm is affecting the quality of communications"

"Yeah. We'd better go back"

"That's weird. I've got a missile warning"

"It will be the bank of clouds in which we entered. Maybe some lightning got damaged the circuits. Afterall, the National Guard is entitled to the scrap heap is not it?"

That was the last laugh of their lives. a second later two AA-12 Adder went out the existence of the thirty-four years old captain and his wingman of twenty-six, their bodies destined never to be found again and their disappearance not even noticed from the radar unknowingly disturbed.

RUSSIAN HELICOPTER SQUAD, APALENA, MICHIGAN, USA 24/05/2020 09:17

"Get ready men!" Cried the major to the team in the belly of the helicopter. Below him was missing the blue of the Great Lakes, which had been replaced by the green of American soil. He wondered what civilians thought at the view of fifteen not American helicopters passing on their native land. Probably would have stopped to watch and would not have said anything, maybe someone would have even made a video with the phone, but he could not put it online. All non Russians channels were disturbed by the AWACS. A Su-32 from the aircraft carrier and his wingman went roaring over helicopters, launching a volley of laser-guided AGM against noncritical structures of the base and the planes parked on the runway. The helicopter suddenly stopped, and he heard the noise caused by the 25mm cannons from the escort gunships open fire on the barracks to finish the job of the attackers.

"GO, GO, GO!" He instructed his team, which was hanging on the rope and began to descend. He turned on his Cross-Com integrated into the patrol cap and dropped himself. He went down in the middle of a glade with two F-16s parked. The Wolves were shooting wildly with their AEK-971 against any target they found to shoot. They were unloading their packs against a wooden building, a hundred meters from them, riddling with bullets to allow the infiltration team to break down the door and clean the building.

"Watch out, no unnecessary civilian casualties. Clear?"

"Yes, sir"

"Teams, report"

"Here the first team, we are cleaning up the main building"

"Teams 2 and 3 hangars secure, many prisoners"

"Teams 5,6 and 7, resistance to the barracks, I request immediate air support"

Using the Cross-Com, he instructed one of his gunshipsgoing to help Spetsnaz who were in trouble.

"Teams from 7 to 13, occupy Alpena. Gunship 2, provide support"

"Roger"

"State of the runway?"

"Untouched. Transports can land even now"

"Heard Colonel? Can bring down transport"

"Great job, Major. But before I want to completely clean the base: I do not want surprises"

"Roger that. Trust me, sir. Let's go at the gate men!"

The twenty men of his special team began to run toward the main gate. It was a gatehouse quite spacious with room inside for at least six guards, barriers of access and safety pylons. A HUMVEE with a .50 caliber controlled the entrance to the base, while soldiers armed with M468 were entrenching to repel an assault.

"Alt"

The team stopped.

"Tatiana, you and Ivan take a stand on that roof. Wait my orders and then suppress them. Okay?"

The two nodded and ran towards the entrance of the building, which was pointed by Major, who led the main force at the gate.

"There they are!" Shouted an American who began to shoot him, forcing them to take cover.

"Fire!" He answered.

The two snipers began to pull from the house where they were stationed, killing the gunner and a soldier. The others tried to escape, but were gunned down by Major and his men. A series of explosions caught the attention of the team: the Ka-25 assigned to teams of 5 to 7 had launched a barrage of rockets at the barracks, ending all resistance.

"Colonel, the base is free. It's time to send reinforcements"

THE PENTAGON, WASHINGTON DC, USA, 07/30/2020 14:56

"The Russians are continuing to land men and vehicles across the northern Michigan. Main landing points are airports in Alpena, Boyne and Gayling. There are at least ten thousand Russians approaching from the north to Detroit and twenty thousand headed to Illinois. The National Guard of the neighboring states was mobilized, and we' re directed as many soldiers as possible in the state, but with the offensive in Europe will not be easy I guess, at least not for now. Martial law has been declared in all the country."

"Thank you, General Wilson. General Jennings, now, how the hell did they bypass all of our computer systems and obscure the entire north-western US?" Becerra was obviously angry: he had failed his vow not to let the enemies of America to set foot on American soil for less than a minute, and also because their computer systems had been deceived by those Russians who, according to the CIA, were a decade away from them.

"Mr. President, I don' t know what CIA said, but for sure the Russians know better than us how to use computers. During the last ten year they have steadily expanded their computer skills to get up with us. They have the capacity to attack our better defended systems and contaminate them, if they wanted to. cuts to the budget at the beginning of the decade have done nothing else to diminish our computer potential. Dim satellite images is a small thing for a good hacker, but turn off a radar no. Net Force was a big step forward, but it happened too late to change the cards on the table "

"You mean that either have a spy or that we are vulnerable?"

"Both options "

"Shit" Becerra slammed his fists on the table in anger "What can we do?"

"Apart from fighting?" Asked innocently General Montgomery.

"Yes"

"Nothing, sir" Mitchell confirmed

"Then we have to develop a plan for God's sake!"

"We have already thought one, Mr. President," Wilson spoke again and the screens in the room began to show a map of Michigan with red in the areas occupied by the Russians in blue and those still free "We'll redirect National Guard and Army units here, in Detroit. We stop them here, forcing them to bend to Chicago, where they will be thwarted by our forces in Illinois. We'll simultaneously launch a counter-offensive from the north with the 82nd Airborne. Bridging fronts of Detroit and Chicago, and close them in a pocket "

"And about the Russian naval task force in the Hudson Bay? And their airlift?"

"The battle group of the John C. Stennis will leave Iceland and will go first to the north, then south, where they'll trap them in James Bay. If the Russians were to become aware of our operation then it will be a manhunt in the larger Hudson Bay " While Wilson spoke, arrows with the names of the units danced on the map to indicate the movements and forecasts of strategists " The enemy has two airlifts, one running north of Canada, heavily protected and in flight on a straight flush with the stratosphere, while the other makes the long journey, from Russia across the North Pole, passing respectively over Greenland, where it is attacked by the European fighters, Baffin Island, Hudson Bay, where the fighters take turns and Finally Apalena. Attacks on convoys will be carried out through stealth fighter F-22, F-35 and F-36, the latter will be tested in battle these days "

"What can you tell me of our air force?"

"The National Guard of Michigan has lost 70% of its F-16 but their A-10s are largely operational and combat-ready. Aviation has sent everything it could, including a sixty F/A- 22. The Marines have the Harriers and F-35B in the area. Our best card is stealth, although according to our intelligence, the Russians are developing low-frequency radar programs. One of ours E-3 was shot down last night by a squadron of Su-50 or PAK-FA: they have approached it and were detected by radar at last, leading to the loss of the 19 on board the aircraft and five F-15S pilots "

"What about them?"

"Apparently the Russians have greatly improved the stealth capabilities of their aircraft. The Su-50 could even compete with our first-generation Raptor. Most of their fleet consists of the multi-role Su-50, Su-35, Su-30 and Su-33SD. As fighters, they have the Su-47, Su-27Z, MiG-29F, MiG-35 and MiG-37 interceptors some. 're all based on, or in major airports or runways created by engineers. Our most important problem, however, is that A-50 that continues to fly free, protected by three fighter squadrons "

"How do we shoot it down?"

" 1st Experimental Fighter Wing has a plan sir" Assured Jennings.

20,000 METERS ABOVE SEA LEVEL, NEAR MIDDELTON, MI, USA 02/06/2020 22:33

"ECCM in five, four, three, two, one, jamming"

"Roger Sky Eye. HAWX squadron, go into radio silence"

The formation of four F/A-22 Raptor sped silently in the night skies of Central Michigan directed toward their goal: the A-50. The Air Force had devised a plan which was then approved by the President: the stealth fighters would have penetrated the Russian lines and would have trough the enemy with the electronic coverage of an E-3 AWACS, which would have prevented the enemy to detect the Raptors with its low-frequency radar. The choice had fallen on the F/A-22 aircraft, advanced versions of the venerable F-22, capable of performing with equal power both the role of air superiority fighter and multi-role support. They were armed with four AIM-9 Sidewinder III for close combat and four AIM-120 AIMRAAM for long-range combat. They would wait to get as close as possible to the AWACS to open fire, as the prolonged opening of a bay would detect their presence to all radars in the area, canceling the advantage of stealth. The attack was supposed to start in three minutes, when the PAK-FA's of the previous escort would have been too far away to assist the Su-35.

They continued to fly undisturbed for three minutes without encountering any enemy until the AWACS did not transmit the coordinates of the targets. HAWX 1 passed to AIMRAAMs, acquired the target and waited as long as possible to shoot.

"Sandman, engaging. 3 Fox"

"Wizard engaging. 3 Fox"

"Buzzard, engaging. 3 Fox"

"Archangel, engaging. Fox3"

Four AIM-120 illuminated the night of Michigan as New Year's Eve fountains, headed to their target twenty kilometers ahead. Now they were in the game.

"Three centers" Confirmed Sky Eye "But the AWACS is still in the air, it looks like a Su-35 has taken the missile for the A-20. HAWX squadron, shoot another volley and go check"

"Roger Sky Eye. 3 Fox" They repeated in unison while the pilots unloaded four other missiles at targets, getting closer and closer to the target.

"Belka 4,7,9 downed! Where did it came from?"

"The radar is clean!"

"No matter, Concentrate on the A-50. Defend it even at the cost of your life"

"Yes, sir" The nine survivors took a defensive position with respect to the AWACS, positioned four on each side and one in front of the big aircraft.

"Another salvo on the way!"

"Disperse! AWACS, evasive maneuvers!"

All launched chaff and flares to avoid being hit by the missiles coming in, going nose-up or nose-diving and using their super maneuverability to evade missiles. This time they were lucky, with only two planes shot down, but the A-50 had taken a shot at the third engine, putting it out of action.

"I saw something pass! Black livery!"

"Hey, I have a heat lock on!"

"Stealth!"

"Break formation and engage! They know we're here!"

The Su-35 had begun advanced maneuvers to effectively counter the four F/A-22. They were in a ratio of seven to four, but the Raptor had been constructed to operate in conditions of numerical inferiority, plus the fact that in four their chances of survival greatly increased. His wingman were divided to take care of the bandits, while he gave the coup de grace to A-50.

"HAWX squadron, here Sky Eye, hurry, they called for reinforcements"

"Roger Sky Eye, thirty seconds, and we're done"

A Su-35 decided to interpose between the Sandman and his goal for obstruct the firing line. Sandman passed to the AIMRAAM, since they could engage multiple targets on explicit command, and after a few seconds, the message _Shoot _appeared on his HMD , edged with red.

"Fox 3"

He pressed the missiles button and from the ventral bay launched his last AIM-120, which crashed into targets within less than half a second, breaking in two Su-35 and pulling off the wing of the A-50, lightening it as a ball of fire, which began to fall to the ground, bringing with it all the trouble it had caused.

"_Resist ... Missing very little ... the command has a plan. We'll get you out of there, and everything will return to normal ... If only this had not happened ..._"

"Wizard, Fox2"

Behind Sandman in a Su-35 white-gray livery exploded in a blast of fire, pieces of metal and oil, and white smoke started from the cockpit, signaling the ejection of the pilot. He had not even realized he had a bandit in the queue. He had not even heard sounding the alarm engagement. He found himself fantasizing still in flight. It could not happen again. Not in these circumstances. If you really wanted to save them, then he would have had to come back alive.

_Alive_

"Thank you, 2. I owe you one"

"Roger"

"HAWX squadron, great job. Radar clear, bandits deleted. Wait ..." There was a pause "Warning, warning, new contacts on the radar at mach 2.1 The incoming signal comes and goes, they 're stealth!"

"We have a better reading of the data?" Churches Buzzard.

"Eight PAK-FA coming towards you. Unclear to engage, return to base immediately! "

"We can not even shoot them?"

"Negative 4, we run out of missiles, then, is an order"

"Roger Boss"

"HAWX, reverse course and proceed to full afterburner. They will soon be upon us if we do not use them"

The four F/A-22 changed direction and put the engines at maximum power to escape from their deadly pursuers. The PAK-FA of those days was very different from the first version produced in 2015: it had the cockpit done with a single piece of glass, two compartments for additional weapons, advanced avionics and stealth technology of last generation. It was the best fifth generation multi-role ever, surpassing even the versatile F-35. But the Su-50 had to resort to compromise when he had to carry heavy weapons, such as anti-ship missiles that more than two couldn't be placed in the internal bays, forcing them to recur to external hard points , which reduced the stealth aircraft, unlike Lightning II, which could accommodate, albeit in limited quantities, these weapons inside.

"Shit, but they never go to sleep?"

"Not when the big boys got shoot down 3"

"Roger"

"Two minutes to the front line"

"Watch out!"

In front of them lit up dozens of research headlights, followed by tracers of antiaircraft artillery. Luckily they were on stealth aircraft, or even the SAM could hook them, and them the danger factor would grow geometrically.

"Avoid the flak and proceed to the rally point. A squadron of F-35 is waiting for you to bring the targets to range"

"Roger Sky Eye"

The four F/A-22 moved in zigzag to avoid the enemy's guns, with the PAK-FAs in less than thirty seconds from them.

The pilots decided to risk it and resumed the route rectilinear hoping not to be seen, thanks to their black livery, by observers equipped with night-vision goggles.

"I was hooked!"

"They have missiles at low frequency, attention"

"But how many of those things they have? We can only hook in the range of AWACS!"

"Apparently Ivan is more advanced than we thought. How far is it?"

"Very little!"

"HAWX squadron, speed up, you are going to get busted"

"We're already applying full thrust Sky Eye, can't you procure us a distraction?"

"I'm encroaching on the F-35 to give you a bit of time. Who imagined that you had raised a hornet's nest?"

"HAWX squadron, Omega Squadron here, we are coming. Try to stay alive"

"Roger Omega. We appreciate the gesture"

"Omega"

HAWX squadron crossed the front line, and suddenly the flak ceased. The four fighters mingled with the night and flew through the cloudy sky fleeing from their pursuers.

"Sky Eye here. Mission complete, return to base"

"And Omega? Shouldn't we come back to help them?"

"Negative Sandman. Carry out orders"

"Roger," replied HAWX 1 reluctantly, while the radio heard the news of the desperate battle in eight PAK-FA and four F-35.

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The invasion has begun! And HAWX is in the front lines ! During summer expect a lot of new chapters and suspence!

R&R!


	13. Battle:Detroit

Here we go, next chapter!

Don't forget to R&R.

I borrowed two names from a very famous FPS franchise. The couple would help me in this chapter (Their introduction) and another (The secret mission)

Good Reading!

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CHAPTER 11: BATTLE: DETROIT

15 KM FAR FROM DETROIT, MICHIGAN, USA 06/06/2020 11:12

"Out of the car!"

As a mechanical reflex, the passenger of the fourth HUMVEE opened the door and ran toward the ditch four feet in front of him, tumbling into the mud and got dirty his BDU. His companions were coming toward the ditch, but many fell before they got there; they weren't stumble, but were cut down by the machine guns of the T-90 to a hundred meters from the convoy.

"Honey Four, retreat, retreat!" Honey Four was the call sign of Stryker APC assigned to escort the convoy. With its 25 mm cannon and a minigun, it was a formidable opponent for light vehicles, but not for tanks. The vehicle began to go back, but stopped after a cannonball pierced the side armor, incinerating everyone inside the vehicle, causing it to explode in a ball of fire spilled on the left side. One by one the jeep began to be affected by other guns, raining pieces of hot metal on soldiers in the ditch.

"Sergeant Collins! Sergeant Collins!" Called someone who had a slash of silver on the lapel of his uniform. The passenger was able to understand his words by reading the sores, yet having his ears plugged and whistling by the explosions. A man with three dark green gallons under the flag passed to the left, heading toward the lieutenant.

"Sergeant, we need to tear those carts! Take a bit 'of men and reaches a high position, I will try to provide a little air support. Go!"

"Yes, sir. Lopez, Riviera, Rossi, Mc Cord, Billy, Sato, with me!"

"Lopez and Riviera are dead sir!"

"You!" He looked at the passenger "Come with me, soldier"

"Yes, sir" The passenger crouched and began to follow the sergeant headed to a gathering of men.

"I brought Ramirez, sir," the corporal informed him.

"Well done. Ok then, the plan is this: we get out of this trap, we reach the roof of that diner and illuminate the tanks across the street. Hoorah?"

"Hoorah!"

"Turn on the cross-com ladies "

The passenger pressed a button on the side of the helmet, which did light up the screen on his left eye.

INITIALIZATION ...

ACTIVATION ...

COM CROSS V. 1.5.6. ACTIVATION COMPLETE.

INTERNAL DATABASE DAMAGED ...

RESTART FAILED.

BATTLENETWORK CONNECTION IN PROGRESS ...

CONNECTING COMPLETED.

DATA RECOVERY FROM DATABASE ...

SYSTEM ERROR. DATABASE CORRUPTED. PARTIAL RECOVERY IN PROGRESS.

RECOVERY COMPLETED.

WELCOME CHARLES BLACK

GRADE: PVT

UNITA ': 75th RANGER REGIMENT, 2nd BATALLION.

SQUAD: HUNTER 6

SQUAD STATUS: SOLE SURVIVOR.

NEW ORDER BY: SGT. COLLINS (NEW TEAM LEADER)

ORDER: CONTROL CROSS-COM.

The soldier raised his thumb to sign his work, closely followed by the others.

"Come on, come on!" Ran the sergeant. Around them he felt the smell of gunpowder and burnt flesh. The edges of the ditch was swept by machine gun fire wagons, while the rangers were providing cover fire with small arms to the team of Collins. Rock fragments occasionally poured over them as they crossed the narrow channel with the boots plunged by a third in the mud. They would have gone to a pitch with bridge to cross the street, where there was a room with access to the roof where they would direct the attackers on the enemy fortification.

"The UAV has identified an entrenched enemy team to fast food in front of us. Eyes open"

"I wonder why did not identify even the tanks"

"It 's just a few seconds ago, Ricky"

"Roger"

"Rossi, Black, and you go up here and clean up the outside. We enter the room"

"Affirmative. Here, kid"

The massive Italian-American motioned for him to stop, while he went up to the first ridge. Arrived on looked right and left, then made the gesture of "OK", allowing the other to climb.

They began to shelter behind the wall near the corner of the southern part of the park, while the sergeant approached the back door, a few steps from them.

"I'll kill this, you cover me" Rossi said, pulling out his Blackhawk knife, leaving his SAW leaning against the wall, heading to a Russian in urban camouflage that seemed intent to smoke a cigarette. The gunner set it up with a number of stab wounds to the heart, keeping his mouth shut with his left hand to avoid any cry. He dropped the body into the ditch and gave the green light to sergeant, while Black joined him with the SAW. Inside the building they heard the first shots.

"Come on," He ran, ordering to prepare a flashbang.

"Throwing up!" Black cried, as he leaned from the wall and began to sweep the parking lot to the west, the Russian soldiers were caught unprepared. The blinding burst fell a little over the heads of the soldiers, but was low enough to force some to cover their eyes, that they became easy prey for the duo. In the meantime, the local had already been cleaned, and the team's sergeant was firing on some enemy reinforcements from the north, from the distributor, who were wiped out with a few shots.

"Everyone on the roof, quick!"

The rangers climbed the stairs to the wall, reaching the roof where they had a clear view of the battlefield.

"Lieutenant Holland, we are on the roof"

"Very good, Sergeant. I'm sending your signals to the aircrafts! Hurry, please. They're tearing us apart here!"

"Roger that sir. Trust me. Wizard 1, here Hunter 5-1, do you copy?"

"Wizard. I have a load of AGM-65 to drop on the enemy. Simply notify the targets, our radar is disturbed at this time"

"Roger Wizard! Point out with the laser targets; tear them to pieces. Charlie, Sato, use laser designators!"

The two SCARs set off a invisible beam, which touched the four tanks, making them visible on radar.

"Here Wizard 1 and 2, targets acquired, release in three ... two ... one, release!"

Two F-15E went roaring over the heads of the rangers on the roof, dropping from the fuselage two missiles each, which fell perpendicularly to the enemy tanks, causing their tower to leap into the air.

"Have a nice day" Wished the leader.

"SAM! SAM! Break, break!" A female voice broke in on the radio, when the ground set off a rocket headed for the Eagles. The F-15s performed some advanced maneuvers, which were sufficient to lose the missile track.

"Missile evaded! Hunter, if you have time, take care of that site. Call us if you need us"

"Roger Wizard. Good luck out there. Lieutenant, we're there. Tanks destroyed. Infantry survivors are retreating"

"Well done Sergeant. Wait for the arrival of the convoy at the local"

"Received"

He turned to Black.

"Welcome to the 5-1, soldier"

OUTSIDE DETROIT, MICHIGAN, USA, 08/06/2020 11:55

"You're telling me, Colonel, that if we do not destroy the bridge, the city will be invaded by Russian armored columns from Canada?"

"Exactly, sir,"

"And how will you stop them?"

"With an air strike on the bridge"

"But the missiles won't understand that the bridge is a target, unless you don't make them understand it is, right?"

"Exactly. That's why the JSF will handle the operation"

"Colonel, if you can stop them, I will ensure that you receive a medal or a promotion for your work"

"Yes, sir, thank you sir"

"Now I have to go back to Washington DC, but be sure that if I had less stars on my collar, I would have offered as a volunteer for a similar job. Send your best, Colonel Spencer"

'I will" Spencer snapped to attention "Good flight, General Mitchell'

Mitchell put his hand on Spencer's shoulder "Good luck, son"

Spencer remained silent until Mitchell had left the tent, then turned to Dennison.

"Call here Captain Rorke and Lieutenant Walker"

"Yes, sir"

Ten minutes later, Dennison introduced into the tent captain Gabriel "Phantom" Rorke and lieutenant Elias "Scarecrow" Walker, who positioned themselves on the side of the holotable.

"Lieutenant, Captain" he greeted them.

"Sir" they both stood to attention.

"I have a job for you. Dennison"

A 3D map of Detroit appeared, around which the four arranged themselves.

"We're all ears sir"

"I need you to create a plan to destroy the bridge"

FORTH WEST STREET, DETROIT, MICHIGAN, USA 08/06/2020 14:27

"Lieutenant, Ghost!" He felt fists on the glass "Wake up, come on!"

Elias opened his eyes slowly, with a still blurry view. It took a fraction of a second to compose himself and look at the interior of the vehicle in which he was sitting behind the passenger.

Obviously, the plan had failed.

The windshield was covered with blood and dead bodies of three ghosts were poured out on the chairs. You could see the legs of what was the gunner, hanging the weapon, which prevented him from falling in the middle. A soldier was beating his fists on the glass, motioning him to wake up and get out, but he never finished the sentence since from the left side of his skull came a violent jet of blood, and his eyes opened wide and he dived, accompanied by the helmet , which rolled half a meter away from the lifeless body. did not even have twenty years.

The boy was replaced by a madman with a bandana tied around the beret and a cut over his left eye. He had two captain's bars on the collar of the black uniform, with a white skull on the breastplate.

"Elias! Open! Christ we must go, yesterday!"

Elias cut the belts while the man literally pulled off the door of the car.

"Rorke! What happened?" Asked the lieutenant, still stunned, while the the captain took him by the collar of his uniform and slammed in a pile of corpses with the Stars and Stripes on the right arm and holes all over the body. Some survivor was responding to the fire, but the more were crouching for fear that the BTR shot himself against them.

"The column has gone to hell! They're all dead but me, you and some of the army. We are close to the target, but there is too much resistance. Army's rookie continue to die, and I called helicopters . While they sweep everything we go on Lafayette, flank them, take a car and go onto the bridge. You know the rest "

"Roger" Rorke handed him a Remington R5 with holographic sight and M205 grenade launcher. On the side was written "Scarecrow", indicating that it was his personal gun, because it was the only one who answered to the nickname. He remembered his childhood in San Diego and weekends spent in the countryside with his grandparents, where he had fun just to do the scarecrow, running through the field cultivated by his grandfather ...

His thoughts were interrupted by the captain shouting furiously into the microphone.

"Lancer 1-1, where the hell you are, we're being slaughtered here!"

"Hold on captain, we're coming at full speed along the river, estimated arrival in a minute"

"Acknowledged! Guys come on! Here is going to blow everything!" Anyone who was able to move left the road and began to follow Rorke directed toward Lafayette, firing wildly. The street was empty but Elias also checked the corner with the other road to safety. After a moment he pulled his head back.

"Ok, we have a sniper on the warehouse on the left, a machine gun and some soldiers entrenched. What do we do?"

"Elias, you come with me, side by side. Sergeant Williams, you take the left" The soldiers nodded.

"Follow me!" He shouted.

Rorke did not care of the enemies. He dived into the street without fear, guns blazing, with Elias who covered him with a grenade launcher from behind. The soldiers next to him fell continuously, both enemies and allies, the first of riddled by his ACR, the latter killed by the Russians who he could not take down before; fire and bullets around him, a living hell.

Rorke was their myth. He has a fire inside that gave him the strength to do anything and to inspire trust and confidence to push others to follow him wherever he went, whatever he did. He would have been through hell without getting burned if he wanted to. He was an officer in the Marines before being chosen for the JSF, and had turned his platoon in the best of all the fighting force.

It was perhaps the best ghost after Scott Mitchell.

"We're searching for a car, men! We need something that can withstand an impact!" Elias shouted once the road was safe. But had remained in six would be enough . They had to, otherwise they would have fought for nothing.

"This works!" Cried the captain, after running contact in an SUV that was immediately filled with the few survivors. The car roared off at full speed directly toward a wall that Rorke crashed through, without too much trouble, coming out next to the toll booth on the twentieth. He took the road in the wrong direction and went up the ramp to the bridge.

"Ok listen: the Russians are ten minutes from the bridge. This should not be defended, at least not as heavily as the access" The road before, the Forth, was also known as "access", as was the the only way to the border bridge. The Apache had just arrived, presenting with a barrage of rockets.

"Here we are!" Shouted Rorke, paving a road block and sweeping two soldiers. The machine began to be hit by small arms, but the skill of the driver kept them out of danger until they punctured a tire.

"Walker, quit and place the IR in the middle of the bridge! We will keep them busy!" He cried, while wielding the ACR fired a burst from the window, also trying to get free from the airbag.

Elias jumped out of the car toward the center of the bridge, R5 in hand, with bullets brushing his ears. He threw a glance back, but he only saw the SUV. He arrived in the middle of the bridge, bent down and pulled out a small device that transmitted an infrared signal that allowed the A-10 to hook the bridge and take it down.

"Transmitter located?" Rorke reached him.

"Yes, sir. Others?"

He did not answer, opting to move to the edge of the bridge.

"Bulldog 1-1, you have a lock?"

"Roger Phantom. Beginning the descent now, you'd better leave the bridge"

Two A-10 Thunderbolt II in the gray livery of the National Guard appeared on the horizon, headedtowards the bridge.

"How do we leave?"

"We jump"

Elias had no time to argue that his friend picked him up and pushed him in the jump of ten or more meters that separated them from salvation as the attackers struck with their Makericks the IR, breaking the bridge and sending smoke into the plans of the Russians .

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Disclaimer: I do not own Elias Walker and Gabriel Rorke, they're property of Activision or whoever owns CoD.

What do you think uh? Good or bad?

Oh, and the 5-1 will became a running gag in the American theater. This chapter was just to introduce them.

See you next time!


	14. Changes of Initiative

Here we go! Sorry for the time delay but school keeps me busy, as you may know. Enjoy!

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CHAPTER 13:CHANGES OF INITIATIVE

EFS PRAGUE, NORTHERN ATLANTIC, NEAR ICELAND, EF 06/10/2020 08:45

"Raise the periscope"

"Periscope out sir"

Mueller put his hands on the controls of the periscopes and inserted his eyes into the optics. The _Prague _had received the task to carry out a survey in the waters controlled by the USN just outside Iceland, to try to provide an explanation for the constant coming and going of ships United States. Of the five aircraft carriers, only two had remained: the_ Stennis_, an upgraded Nimitz-class, and _John F. Kennedy_, one of two brand new _Ford_ class in service with the Navy. The other battle groups and the Sixth Fleet had sailed in the weeks following: the first two headed to South America, and the third towards the Pacific Ocean. The ENI thought there was something big in motion _Prague_ and was the only submarine close enough to check the remaining ships.

"Mark" The captain turned to his XO "_Kennedy_ still in place. _Stennis_ in motion. Delgado?"

Delgado took off his headphones and looked at the sonar notebook "Stennis, bullseye 137, 229 heading south captain"

"CPO Fuentes, radar detection?"

"Hydrophone data confirmed, no wait ... New direction, 232, stable and in course"

"Periscope down" Mueller took off his hands after folding the controls which triggered the automatical retract mechanism "Lieutenant Vaccani, go down a hundred meters, slowly"

"Yes, sir"

"All hands, prepare to dive" He heard the XO through the intercom.

The _Prague_ began to dive into the depths of the abyss, going from three meters to one hundred fifty five seconds later. They performed all the operations on the vessel slowly to minimize the chance of being detected by anti-submarine frigates arranged in a circle around the bulk of the fleet.

"Sonar, American submarines in the area?"

"No presence of American submarines in a radius of thirty miles from us, sir," warned Delgado.

"Good. Machine room, state of the engines?"

"Power of the reactor to 75 percent and growing. New bars ready to be inserted. Hydrogen cells ready sir"

"Roger lieutenant commander. Engine control, switch to hydrogen fuel cells. Navigation, follow vector 289, seven miles from the carrier, get us away from here"

"New Route, 236, hydrogen fuel cells at medium power. Safe distance reached in ten minutes"

"Sonar, trace the Stennis. Communications, As soon as we are at safe distance, contact the Northern Atlantic Command"

NORTHERN ATLANTIC COMMAND, ROTTERDAM, HOLLAND, EF 10/06/2020 09:05

"Lieutenant Commander, a message from one of our submarines, the_ Prague_"

"Let me see" the LTJ handed him the sheet "Hmmm. Hence the _Stennis_ is on the march. Send it to admiral Kowalski and ENI. Something big is brewing"

ADMIRAL KOWALSKI'S QUARTERS, EUROPE COMMAND, PARIS, FRANCE, EF 10/06/2020 09:10

"What I'm saying is that if we do not activate the total war state, this war will be very short. Have you seen the reports? We're holding our own, but for how long we can survive with just the regular army and reserves ?"

"We are brave," replied the other speaker "But you're right, We're not going to last long on our own. At recruitment centers, the queues are not as long as they are in America. In Russia, at least, still have conscription"

"The president does not want to restore it. She says she does not want to send to die any able person from eighteen to thirty years. Damn pacifist. We built this army with the purpose of having a powerful force for peace at our disposal, or at least for defense. The federal army is a powerful war machine, as are the Grenadiers, aviation and my navy "

"So you suggest to accept their offer?"

"I would say to hear others and see what they think. Du Bankole also. His Enforcers could be the key in this conflict. By the way, talking about them, maybe it's a small thing but a Colonel Jacob Francis McCord, USMC, was found dead in New Orleans. Remember him? "

"He was one of the bigwigs who invented the SLAMS"

"I do not know, but I smell something bad. Wait, Lise?"

"Admiral, there is a message from a lieutenant commander of the command of the Northern Atlantic Command, says it is urgent"

"Two minutes Lise"

"Yes, sir"

"Breger? Sorry but duty calls me"

"Sure, go if you have. I call you later"

"Have a nice day"

"You too"

Kowalski hung up the phone and walked over to a large wooden cabinet on the west wall of his office, opened it and pressed a button activating the dialer. A naval officer wearing the distinctive blue gray camouflage jumpsuit issued by the first of May was standing before him on the screen. The three squares diagonally on the left pectoral indicated that he had the rank of lieutenant commander, as well as those on the front of the hat.

"Lieutenant Commander Aldeghi, mind if I ask the reason for this urgency?"

"Sir" Aldeghi snapped to attention "One of our submarines, the _Prague _has detected suspicious movements from the American ships stationed off the coast of Iceland. As we know, the two battle groups and a fleet have already left the island, but for four days there was no movement, at least until today "

"I'm listening"

"The battle group of the John C. Stennis left the island about twenty-five minutes ago.. Heading is vector 232, headed to the eastern United States "

"Good. Henceforth, any development of the matter has to go on my desk. Whenever the group does, you have to tell me"

"Yes, sir"

"Lieutenant Commander"

"Admiral"

Kowalski hung up and went to the intercom.

"Lise?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Convene an extraordinary meeting at the command"

"Yes, sir"

"Well" he thought, "The opportunity to extend the queue in front of the recruiting centers is finally here"

BRIEFING ROOM 2, COMMAND EUROPE COMPLEX, PARIS, EF 06/10/2020 10:35

Probably the first thing that someone would have heard in the passage from the corridors to the briefing room was the terrible smell of cigarettes as usual coming from the mouth of the commander in chief of the Grenadier Corps, General Rinaldi. All the European high command, the president and some bigwigs of the government had gathered to discuss the big news of the day: the moving of a U.S. battle group.

"We believe that the fleet is proceeding towards Terranova" Informed vice admiral Longhi "Where they will meet with other ships of the Third Fleet and presumably will head north to Hudson Bay, to eliminate the Russian fleet in position" The monitor of the room, as always, showed the movements of American ships "They will try to stay as far north as possible to avoid our submarines, but doing so would be within range of our aircraft in Greenland"

"Well" concluded the President, "Admiral Kowalski, what do you suggest to do?"

"Madam, I would suggest you to do as has been done with the _Bismarck _eighty years ago, that is, sink it. Eliminating the _Stennis_ would put at risk the US power in the Atlantic, and this would give a little breathing to our ships, since of seven aircraft carriers, one was sunk, two were in Rotterdam and Brest for repairs and the other two are too far away from the motherland to assist, not to mention the smaller vessels under repair "

"Then it's settled. You'll sink the _Stennis_. General Montel, I assume that the Air Force will give its full support to our naval forces?"

"Absolutely, ma'am. Indeed, we already sent a contingent of planes of the first air division, comprising the first TFS"

"The "Yellows"? Thought they were protecting the gun"

"They have been replaced by Blue squadron, Admiral. They will provide all the necessary support to your ships"

"Vice-Admiral, ENI must provide all possible information to our forces. We do not want another disaster"

"Yes, ma'am"

"What is the situation in the country? Breger, Fouquet?"

"We hold position in Spain, Portugal, Poland and Hungary. Violent clashes in Romania with the Russians in the capital and near the border with Bulgaria. No relevant operation in Finland. According to official reports we lost three hundred thousand soldiers in two months of war, but even our enemies are paying "

"As if to comfort me. Fouquet?"

"The ISA is working hard, in the British Isles for the accuracy, especially in England and Wales where there seem to be the first signs of partisan warfare. Seems that the rebels have access to military-grade equipment such as jeeps, light armor, helicopters, and perhaps even some Typhoons " The presence of planes in the ranks of the English rebels warned everyone in the room. They believed that the Royal Air Force had been destroyed or had escaped to Canada, where they could regroup for a counterattack grouped a compartment with what was left of the navy.

"Are you telling me that there are still enemy aircraft in England?" Inquired worriedly Breger.

"Our sources are not sure but consider that the rebels still have some intact planes or disassembled, maybe even to repair. I would recommend to intensify checks at the airports"

"And sending some drones" Added dryly Breger.

"The Navy and Air Force, how are they doing?"

"We manage to keep up with our enemies and to send supplies in Guinea. We have established a blockade between Gibraltar and Ceuta, blocking access to the Mediterranean. Needless to say, the only two operational fleets are there, namely the first and second . We have sunk American warships and cargos in the Atlantic with our submarines, and the shipyards in Italy and Greece will be fully operational within two days, if we authorize the total war of course "

"Hmm, it's a tough decision, Admiral. Do you know in what would result?"

"Only a few changes in the lives of civilians and a quick European counterattack, if that's what you mean. Madame, we can crush them, but not with the forces we have now. We need the reserves"

"I'll think about it. General?"

"The skies over Europe are safe Mrs. president, we should not expect large-scale bombing as during the Second World War, but the danger of enemy infiltration is always present"

"Explain" Churches Pérreau

"A patrol has intercepted an American squadron over the Alps. They had jammed radar and satellites"

"At least the situation has been resolved"

"I would not demise it quickly. According to the Air Command, their route would have flown over the area of the cannon"

"If Americans knew where the gun is, it would be a threat to our security"

"Unless they know it already" concluded Montel.

RIPON, ENGLAND, EUROPEAN OCCUPIED TERRITORY, 10/06/2020 21:15

"Sergeant Provov to report, sir," He felt a fluttering of heels.

"At ease sergeant. How are things in town?" The captain asked, without looking up from the papers he was reading.

"The situation is mainly quiet captain"

"Mainly?" He had caught his attention.

"Yes, no mess but a few episodes of" disobedience ""

"Disobedience?"

"Yes, for example, some people refuse to answer the questions of our men or in commercial establishments are often served last, and so on"

"Hmmm ... sergeant, they will soon understand that we are here to stay. Any news about that group of gendarmes who had to come from York half an hour ago?"

"No, sir. Lieutenant Keltz sent a combat patrol in the area"

"Tell him I can send a helicopter in case of problems. Hopefully the partisans did not have any intention to go into action tonight, and I hope for them that someone told them of my orders ... say, sergeant, would you ever put them in action? " Eiker invited him to sit in the chair of design in front of him. The desk was adorned with pens, papers, family photos and a tablet with encrypted codes. The rank difference of the two men was evident even at an untrained observer. Despite both wore the service uniform, the quality of the fabric of the captain was better than that of the non-commissioned. His black collar was edged in white, the color of infantry, and had two symmetrical squares on the left and the right. Sergeant had to settle for three downward rockers three upward chevrons on both shoulders, with a star in the middle, and six vertical bars and a cue ball on both sides of the collar. Both had a medal to wear on the neck as a tie.

"Believe me heartless, but the orders are issued to be executed. And those orders are likely to be a deterrent against the actions of the partisans"

"Kill ten of them for each of us. Reminds me of the orders that Wehrmacht had during World War II. And you saw what happened"

"There is only one difference sir"

"It would be?"

"We are a united country now. We are not alone"

The observation of his friend made him smile "Let's hope that's enough. I received new orders, which apply to everyone, unfortunately" He took a sheet of paper and began to read "First: To order as provided in today's date, June 10 MMXX, all the soldiers and officers of the European Federation employed in occupation roles should always wear the arm bands representing the national flag. All the officers and soldiers of every branch out of service or in non-combat tasks, they will have a free choice regarding the use of band "

"More martial than before. Other, sir?"

"Yes. The names of the army, navy, grenadier corps, aviation and minor branches is changed according to the attached file. Thirdly: The occupation troops will react with iron fist and readiness for any attack rom rebel forces in the area "

"What's our new name, sir?"

"Federal European Land Force"

"I would say that the command have a complex for high-sounding names. How's the family?"

"Well, I'd say. Know, my parents were quite wealthy thanks to fishing, back to Bergen, but we never had servants, at least not human. These instead, almost reminds me of _Downton Abbey_. Have you ever seen it?"

"Of course, aside from the fact that there the house was huge, even if here it's no joke. Have you discovered something about the family?"

"The brunette daughter, Laura, is the same age of me and reminds me of a classmate in high school, which, moreover, I liked it. Blythe is a couple of years older than me. Their Father owns a lot of financial securities and various fertile land around here and the wife is always around me"

"Be careful, with women you never know"

"I want to have children, Sergeant"

They both laughed for several seconds.

"When they are going to send us a counter intelligence officer for the partisans, Captain?"

"I think they're just waiting for the first attack"

"It will not have to wait long!" Burst into the room Lieutenant Keltz "They attacked the police convoy!"

Ten minutes before Keltz broke into in the room

"Ok ladies" Sergeant first class Vogts cleared her throat into the microphone aboard the EAGLE "Our job tonight will be like the one of the operators on the European roads: find the problem and remove it. Our target is two kilometers away and is represented by a convoy of Jeeps. authorities sympathetic to us kindly depopulated the highway, so we have a free field. Be ready for anything. clear? "

"Yes, ma'am," The platoon answered.

"Good. In Action"

The journey proceeded smoothly for the two MOWAG EAGLE and the GKT Boxer with a 20mm cannon and .50 caliber attached in case of persistent targets. At a hundred meters, the convoy stopped by order of the sergeant.

"Halt! Get down, even from the Boxer. Magnus, cover us"

"Roger sergeant" replied the pilot of APC, code name "Magnus".

"First team with me. Second and Third, right and left sides. Fourth, the rearguard. Go!"

The twenty soldiers began to advance, without the needs of viewers or torches, as the glow of the sunset and the lights of the APC lighted the road.

"Vehicle, thirty meters to the northeast, near the trees"

"I see it. Follow me"

The expert European soldiers moved towards the convoy of four cars, plus two other cars: the first against the trunk of the last federal SUV, while the other with the trunk in the trunk of the first SUV. Evidently a diversion. Second squad proceeded straight regardless of the convoy, and the three went to the grove to make sure there was no one.

"Ma'am, there are traces of blood" Reported a soldier inspecting the rear seats of the first car.

"And not only that, look here, a body"

"Vital Signs?" asked the sergeant.

"No" said the other, pulling his fingers from the carotid.

"Taking account of the bodies," He reported a corporal of the first "I would say four people are missing here"

"Look here, a trail of blood!"

"Shit. Lt. Keltz, Sergeant First Class Vogts here, we found the convoy. Traces of blood and sixteen bodies. Four missing men. Awaiting instructions"

"Damn. All right, new orders: Look in the area for some evidence or a track. I'm sending a helicopter and canine. Establish a security cordon"

"Roger that. Alright guys, listen up ..."

"Shit! Provov, rally men. Keltz, send the K9, I'll get that helicopter airborne"

"Yes sir!"

"Shit" thought Eiker "I had just changed"

NAVAL AIR STATION JOINT RESERVE BASE NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, USA 06/10/2020 10:21

Four NCIS agents made their way through the crowd of onlookers and the security cordon put in place by the police and marines of the base, which made them pass without making a fuss at the sight of badges. The dead man had been found a few hours ago by a passer-by in an alley near the base of the reserve and the police and the guards of the base had not lost time to isolate the area to prevent that the crime scene was contaminated further. A silver-haired man was bent over the body, while a blonde was taking some pictures of the corpse. In the alley there was a yellow card that indicating the presence of evidence.

"Cole!" Called the senior officer of the team.

The coroner turned slowly and gave a nod to his friend "Carl"

"What do we have we here?"

"Colonel Jacob Francis McCord, headquarters of the 4th batallion of the fourth marines"

"Cause of death?"

"Breaking the neck bone. Judging by body temperature he must have died around three in the morning, but in the laboratory I'll be able to perform a more detailed analysis"

"Signs of struggle?"

"None. If you see, there's a cigarette butt, object" A ". Not crushed. According to me, he was lighting a cigarette and the assailant attacked him from behind, putted pressure on the right side of the scalp and under the jaw, then with a sharp tug his neck to the left and leaves him dead "he said, and mimed the scene by hand with white gloves" It 's all yours. If you have any other questions or discover anything, call me. I'm the van" He stood up and walked toward the van, waving to the woman to follow him.

"Currigan, Vipond inspect the scene. Jensen, with me"

The four agents were divided into two groups: the first went to inspect the objects, while the second remained in the body. Carl Harris leaned over and opened the body in working uniform of Colonel McCord, and began to rummage in his pockets.

"Bingo" He pulled out a slip of paper with a handwritten address and read "Annie"

"A lover?" Churches Jensen

"Could be. Least we have a track. Here apart from the dog tags, wallet and phone there is no other, and I doubt that the murderer has touched them. The portfolio is still full, plus"

"The phone will be of great help. Has the block?"

"No. Do you see more around here?"

"Aside from the cigarette lighter there's nothing around here. Seems a professional job ..."

"But who would want to kill a colonel of the command battalion of the fourth division?"

"I do not know. We'll have to ask the command to give us free access to the files of the man" He concluded, closing the officer's jacket and standing up.

"Currigan, Vipond, found anything?"

"No, sir. Definitely on the lighter and the cigarette there will be only his footprints, but we will analyze them for safety" The four locked themselves in a circle to draw conclusions.

"You two go back to the base with Cole and try to find out as much as possible on our friend. Elizabeth and I have a call to do"

"Here we are" Harris turned off the engine of the Dodge. They had parked just below the apartment of this "Annie", in one of the many new neighborhoods built on the water in 2017. They were full of luxurious buildings, parks and petrol stations for green cars, which made he feel uncomfortable because of his diesel car.

"We ask the concierge or ring the bells?" Inquired Jensen.

"Concierge"

He pressed the bell for a few seconds in order to show that there were people at the door.

"Coming, coming" were the cries coming from the other side of the glass, which turned out to be from a middle-aged white man who opened the door only halfway.

"There are no houses on sale here"

"Federal agents" replied Elizabeth, showing the NCIS badge.

"NCIS? Like the ones on TV?"

"Yes, but we are real" Carl cut short "Can we come in?"

"Sure. What can I do for you?" The man opened the door fully and followed them in the hall.

"We are looking for a certain Annie Jensen. Can you help us?" Jensen asked, approaching the elevator.

"Sure. Of Annie there is only one here. Lives on the third floor, apartment 34 I'll go with you, so you won't need to break the door to open it"

"Lead the way"

They climbed the three flights of stairs quickly and reached a door on the east side of the building. The nameplate on the bell went wrote "Annie Beringer"

The porter opened the door and took his leave from the agents, leaving them.

"Jensen, you take the electronics. I look a bit in the house'

"Ok boss"

The house was very large. Not rich, but definitely upper-middle class. Plasma TV, leather sofa, two armchairs and a desk made the living room. Just behind with a fitted shiny steel made up kitchen along with a luxury glass table. On the counter there were many photos depicting a white man and a mulatto girl often together.

"I found photos"

"The computer is full"

"I have a mulatto woman and a man who is not the colonel. You?"

"A mulatto and the colonel. Come and see"

Carl moved to Jensen and started looking at the pictures.

"It makes no sense. Why betray her husband with an older man ..." Harris began scratching his hair. Maybe they had a motive, a suspect or maybe both. The case could close very quickly or Annie could be a dead end, and they would have ended up with nothing in their hands.

"Unless you do not have a self-interest ..." She finished the sentence for him, scrolling through pictures on the laptop of the woman.

"If so, your experience will be very useful in this case" He teased her.

"You know it's water under the bridge!" She defended herself.

"I know, I know, how do you know and I guess Edward also. Copy all files, Vipond will die by the desire to see them"

"Got it. Found anything?"

"No, no post-it in the kitchen. I'm Going to look in the other rooms. Call me when you're done ..." There was a noise of keys at the door. Harris motioned to Elizabeth to not move, and drew his P99 from the holster and covered behind the door jamb.

The door sprang forward.

"Evan, are you here?" A voice called from outside.

"I'm sorry, but there's no Evan," replied Carl, sheathing his pistol and showing himself to the mulatto woman dressed in a smart blue suit, with a black blouse and 5 inch heels, which immediately expressed surprise on her features, then shock.

"Who the hell are you? What are you doing here? I'm Calling the police!"

"We are the police," He showed her the badge. Do you know a certain Jacob Francis McCord?" Elizabeth was already at his side ready to run after her in case she tried to escape.

"Sure" she replied "He 's my father"

FEDERAL EUROPEAN AIR FORCE BASE "ICE CAGE", GREENLAND, 11/06/2020 11:30

"My balls are freezing. This cart can go faster?"

"There will be no less than ten degrees, it's hot today"

"Make haste to tell you the Lapp .It's always warm to you"

"ETA in ten minutes, sir"

12's staff car was a BMW SUV built on commission for European armed forces under the request of a 4x4 staff car suitable for desert terrain, mountain and icy regions. The car was equipped with every comfort, but that day, the night rigid night had broken the controls of the air conditioning, forcing 12 to wear over his pilot's uniform a camo parka, taken from the wardrobe of the base, and winter boots. On the contrary, his driver wore the enlisted uniform with the sleeves rolled up because of the extreme heat for the driver, a technical sergeant named Hinnakken, from northern Finland. The boy continued to reiterate that the colonel was too chilly, and that the ten degrees ofthat morning were hot. On the other hand, the colonel wanted to get out of the car as soon as possible to squeeze into a building at the base, from which he would enter in the 'real' base, namely the basement, where there were all the facilities and hangars.

Obviously with air conditioning.

The BMW stopped in front of a gate, and the guard wearing a white leather jacket (non-regulatory) took the documents of both and let them go.

"Parking 1A, left"

"Thank you," was the response of Hinnakken.

"Here we are, sir. Whenever you need me, you can find me in the lunchroom"

"Thank you, sergeant l, but for now I think I need to explain something to the squadron"

"New orders?"

"And of the hot kind " The colonel got out while the pilot sketched a smile.

12 entered the precast and called the elevator.

"Level Three"

The doors closed and opened again in ten seconds, with the number three illuminated in red. Waiting for him was major Horst, crew chief of the squadron. While the colonel took care of his pilots in the air, Horst controlled them to the ground and served as a requisition officer: if you needed something, you only had to ask him.

"Have you got the orders?"

"Yes colonel. Authorized by President Pérreau and general Montel in person"

"It must be hot stuff"

"Yes. Here you go, give it a look"

The colonel began to flip through the pages of the file, pausing every so to read.

"It 's nice to have a little support, when do we leave?"

"In three days. ENI has calculated that at least, but anyway we'll have the orders two hours before the begin of the operation"

"Roger" The Colonel took off his parka and gave it to the officer in charge at the wardrobe, staying with his black boots and camouflage flight uniform.

"Well, where are the others?"

"In the briefing room. You've Still ten minutes to prepare the speech. Come, I'll take you to the preparatory room

Ten minutes later, 12 entered the briefing room with a booklet and a laser pointer, while all fifteen yellow squadron pilots saluted.

"Atten-tion!"

"At ease. This morning, at 11.25, I received the order to alert the squadron for the next mission that will take place between tomorrow and the 's get started with the briefing"

The lights in the room went out, while the screen behind the colonel threw a world map with belligernat countries highlighted.

"Yesterday morning, one of our submarines on patrol off the coast of southern Iceland has had the sonar readings that confirmed the departure of the aircraft carrier battle group of the _John C. Stennis_. Currently, according to the latest information, the flotilla would be heading to the Labrador and, according to satellite measurements from ENI, should pass fifty kilometers from Greenland. Here we come in: the sailors, when the time comes, they will begin a disorder ECM to cover a salvo of anti-ship missiles and their aircraft. At this point, the USN should be sufficiently puzzled as to not understand that we will join the attack. Concentrate the attack on the aircraft carrier and then go to the escort ships. There should be intense anti-aircraft fire, but until the disorder is active you will not have much to fear from enemy forces. Once this is accomplished, we will proceed on vector 300, heading to a tanker for aerial refueling and then straight to England. Questions? "

"Sir" Yellow 5, the only woman in the squadron and wingman of 12, stood up "How do we know that the noise signal hold? I mean, shouldn't we have to focus first on the escort ships from a distance?"

"The signal will hold. EID has created it based on the frequencies recovered during the American assault on Paris. Regarding the second question, that will be the task of the navy. Their Rafale will have the task of lead the way and keep busy enemy fighters "

"Sir" This was yellow 9 "What will we do if one of us will be shot down?"

"Then our return in the warm Europe will be delayed. If nothing else, you should go to sleep, but keep in mind that tomorrow the alarm may be triggered at any time. Oh, one other thing: We will use the new EM -2000 Tempest for this mission. They're in the hangars, go and get familiar with them. Dismissed"

"12?"

He turned toward the voice, it was 5.

"Captain. What do you need?"

"Honestly, what do you think of the mission?"

"That is a good way to restore confidence to our troops at the front. We need a little propaganda to bring up the morale to the people and to stretch the file to the recruitment centers. Since w've been on the defensive for too long. Else? "

"No, sir"

He broke into a smile "So come on, I'll buy you a drink"

"Yes, sir" she smiled.

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End of the chapter, and action on the horizon for the lovers of it!

Reviews are always accepted, so review!


	15. The Attack

Once again, here I am.

This time I have a particular surprise for you all: a duel between aces!

Enjoy!

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CHAPTER 13: THE ATTACK

THE KREMLIN, MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 13/06/2020 10:37

"General? It's about to start"

"All right. I'm coming" Sergei Izotov turned off the intercom, got up from the old brown leather swivel chair and walked to the double doors elegantly decorated. Behind them he was waited by major Noskov, his faithful assistant.

"You ordered me to warn you twenty minutes before the briefing start"

"Yes, Noskov, I remember. Let's go"

Sergei began to progress rapidly through the building of the GRU. Around him men and women in uniform passed through the corridors and moving from door to door with an unusual tremor, a symptom of expectation of the events that would occur in a few hours. They arrived in front of the door of the ready room, guarded by two imposing Spetsnaz in combat uniform.

Alexei opened the door and the general past him going to sit on his favorite chair at the head of the table. Around the oval table there were four more chairs on each side for the highest levels of the Russian armed and security forces that would be there in any minute.

"When will the attack commence?"

Noskov lowered his eyes to his tablet, and informed the general that the attack would begin exactly at 11, if they were accurate.

"Europeans are always accurate, Noskov"

Almost eighteen minutes had passed since Izotov first entered the room, and the room was already full. There were Zubov, the head of SVR, Vanja Mikhailovich, the chief of the Russian armed forces, the chiefs of army, navy, air force and anyone who was important enough to be admitted to the conference.

Large wooden planks wall placed in front of Izotov slid in opposite directions and opened, revealing a large white cloth. At the same time a projector came down perpendicular to the table from the ceiling, lit and began to show satellite images of Greenland.

"These, gentlemen, are actual images of Greenland" Began Izotov "Captured in this moment by three of our spy satellites. Enlarge" The image enlarged on eight ships, one of which was an aircraft carrier, that sailed several kilometers from the cold coast of Greenland.

"You have before you the aircraft carrier USS _John C. Stennis_ and its escort group of frigates and destroyers. They are followed by a small European battle group from the south, which strangely has not yet been detected by the fleet, although with all ECM disorders that are sent every day on satellite networks, there would be no wonder ... Anyway, in a few minutes, our European friends will launch an attack with fighters from the island and their ships, aimed to defeat the Americans in a real air-sea battle "

"Izotov" Began Michailovic "I understand that an air-sea battle may have its charms, but I do not see the usefulness for us. I mean, wouldn't be better to focus on how to attack Chicago or break through in Poland?" The question of Vanya was greeted with a murmur of approval from some officers, but Izotov was quick to reply.

"Two months ago we managed to obtain European battle codes. This is a test to see if they work or not. Just imagine if we knew the orders which provide some of the most important military frequencies: we could win any battle against them with this strategic advantage"

"But in two months we have not had time to test it?" Asked the chief of the air force, Markov.

"Unfortunately, the codes that we had were" unclean " so we had to refine and calibrate them at best, so as not to lose the benefits that would have been granted. This is the big test"

"So let's hope that it works" was the comment of Michailovic

AT FIVE MINUTES FROM THE CARRIER, NORTHERN ATLANTIC, 13/06/2020 11:05

"Orca 1 here, commence the operation. Yellow Squadron, remember that we count on you for the surprise effect"

"Yellow 12 to all aircraft, begin the operation. Remember, we are within disturbers of the island, but keep radio silence for safety. The Navy will begin the attack in three minutes. Use EXOCET III missiles first and target first anti-aircraft frigates. Good luck "

The fifteen EM-2000 flew over the ocean at nearly 2500 km / h, headed to the American aircraft carrier. Today's operation was not a walk in the park: The missiles that were mounted had a range of 50 km, while the anti-aircraft missile on the_ Perry_ class frigates could hit more than 70 km away.

A little disadvantageous.

Normally they would have had to rely on low-level flight and portable electronic countermeasures, but this time they had an ace up their sleeve: the Americans did not know they had built an entire network of radar jammers in two weeks, well hidden by the natural landscape of Greenland and did not even know that they were right in the middle of the range of these radars, which by this time were already confusing the systems of the American flotilla.

Yellow 12, pushed the button for the anti-ship missiles EXOCET III and waited for the signal that the radar has locked onto a _Perry _class frigate ten miles away from his aircraft. When he heard a long "beep", 12 rapped on the button and the missile dropped from the belly of the plane. After a second of free fall an orange flame lit behind the missile, which surpassed the Tempest at speed.

The other 14 aircraft followed the example of the Colonel and also launched their anti-ship missiles. They would appear to the observers of the Stennis as fifteen anti-ship missiles in perfect formation headed to their ship, but when they would know, it would be late.

Four dots disappeared from the radar.

"_4 less to go_"

"Attention, attention, there are many American fighters over the fleet! Be careful, they will swoop down on you from above! Five, break left, missile, missile!" He heard a Navy pilot. Apparently it wouldn't be a cakewalk.

"It seems that the Navy has some difficulty" informed him 5.

"7, you and your ups and cover us, everyone else with me. Yellow squadron, finish them off!"

"Roger Boss" The 15 planes separated by an elegant maneuver, a witness to the great skill of the fighter pilots in Europe: the seven fighters on 12's left climbed, showing the enemy their bellies painted in yellow of their EM-2000, while the last three fighters of the row of the right led to the left of 12 with an elegant canopy roll, breaking for a moment the V formation of the elite European squadron.

Four American ships had survived, including the aircraft carrier, damaged but still moving, and the European forces were tightening the grip around their enemies. The five ships of the small European battle group had begun to attack American ships with their 120mm Oto Melara, raining fragmentation and penetration shots against US ships which, however, were not entirely defenseless with their RAZOR system, the latest generation naval jammer device, which was disturbing European targeting systems, making it almost impossible to shoot accurately over long distances. While the navy would have to take a few minutes to get close, the fighters were always above US ships, so they had just won the title of priority targets. Though advanced targeting systems were knocked out by radar, nothing prevented the controllers of shooting anti-aircraft weapons in the hope of a lucky shot. To make matters worse, swarms of Hornet + and Hyper Tomcat were bloodthirsty of European blood.

Yellow 12 closed the report of his HMD and resumed tactical command of the European strike force. They had a ratio of two to one compared to American pilots, but the USN pilots were some of the best knights of the air of the twenty-first century, so that even with such a big advantage, they had to be careful not to waste it being too overconfident on their numbers.

"Do not take anything for granted. Sometimes an excess of security leads to defeat. Yellow Squadron, break formation and take them down"

Yellow 12 pulled towards you the stick and climbed in altitude, while his pilots sped into battle "EFS Rembrandt, Yellow 12 here, request radar verification of a high priority target"

"Roger Yellow 12, we are ready and waiting"

"Rembrandt, look for a fighter whose code name is Wildcard 1"

"Roger 12, stand by"

_"Holden. Time has come to settle the score" _

"12 watch out, your target was located seven hundred meters from your position. We're uploading his coordinates on your HMD"

On the Colonel's HMD appeared a target illuminated in red with the words "F / A-18 + WILDCARD 1" and its distance from the EM-2000. 12 pulled the throttle forward and covered the distance in five seconds, setting the THEL (laser cannon) and shooting a light blue, overheated laser beam against the Hornet. That, taken by surprise, managed to dodge the lethal beam for a miracle who passed ten centimeters from the left tail. The fighter veered to the right by tilting the plane by 90° and turning on the after burners.

"Colonel? What a pleasure to see that you have not lost the steady hand"

"Liberate my frequency Yankee"

"Uuuh, pretty nervous huh? You know what it feels like when you die?"

"No"

"Well, today you're going to try it"

Holden decided to take advantage of the high, but not super maneuverability of his / A-18E Hornet +, so he pulled the airbrake and the colonel could only overtake him at high speed, going from hunter to hunted.

"How I love inversions" Holden giggled "I also love the explosions, especially those caused by AIM-9"

Suddenly in the cockpit of the EM-2000 began to sound the alarm missile. The radar marked a small green bar line directed towards the plane. The colonel dropped two flare and dived dive down, where the air-sea battle raged between the two sides. Through the mirrors inside the cockpit he observed a blast.

"_Perfect, the flare had effect. I do not have to let him take me off guard though. I'm not a newbie. Where is he? I'd better get out of here and quickly _"

12 performed an Immelman, going higher than before, then stabilizing the aircraft with a 180 ° turn of the horizontal axis. He was watching the instruments waiting to have feedback and be able to resume the hunt.

The HMD signaled a red target with three greens in a finger four formation.

_"Found it. He seems to have company. It will be better to wait for reinforcements" _

"Yellow 12 to 5, I need support"

"Roger 12, here I come"

The EM-2000 of 5 pierced the clouds and positioned itself to the right of 12.

"_To whom we do the party this time?"_

"Do you see that hornet formation on vector 230?"

"Affirmative. We are about 050, we're in front of them. Rules of Engagement?"

"Free engagement. The leader is mine"

"Lead the way"

The two fighters activated their afterburners and went straight against the Americans in front of them. It looked like a medieval tournament where the knights were the pilots, the horses were the superb fighters they were piloting and spears were the missiles.

"Colonel, I thought you had crashed into the ocean"

"You do not you get rid so easily of European aviation, Captain. Go!"

12 veered close to the left, 5 right. They described a semi-circle in the air and went across from each other, closing the circle and reversing the direction of turn, finding the one right and the other to the left. They closed the circle one more time and veered toward the inside of the circle just closed, heading for the Hornets, who had set a diamond formation. 12 gave a heat-seeking missile Geofon to the bandit in the queue, while 5 launched a Vulture semi active radar research missile to the left wingman.

Predictably, the Americans broke formation and dropped countermeasures, but 5's SAAM hit it's target. It was not easy to dodge a SAAM, since the missile would have gone anyway to sign on condition that those who had launched held the target inside of an imaginary circumference displayed on their HMD. Reduced to three and scattered, the Americans quickly regrouped and attempted a counterattack: Holden made a loop and ended up in the queue of the Euros. 12 broke right, and 5 dived. On the right, however, Wildcard 2 was waiting for the Colonel to follow him, and Wildcard 4 dived to attack 5. The colonel accelerated to avoid a duel with his opponent, who, after a while dropped from pursuit, preferring chasing 5, already put under pressure by another Hornet.

_"5!" _

12 performed a nosedive, but careful to stay within the floor of clouds that separated the battle zone at low altitude from the high altitude, both equally dangerous, and he found his wingman in trouble: every time she tried something, one of the two Hornets always managed to keep up, and she was quickly running out of ideas. If someone had not helped her, she would soon be in serious trouble. The colonel passed to the radar-seeking Meteor 1.1 missiles. His HMD took on a darker shade when on the screen appeared the words "Meteor Missile System Armed", while the on-board computer hooked all targets within reach of the missile in front of the aircraft. There were only the two Hornets. The HMD showed the optimal trajectories of the missiles, but unfortunately only one was highlighted in green, the other was red.

_"Shit" _

12 began to make adjustments to the aircraft until the two trajectories became green.

The missiles dropped automatically.

The Colonel ignored the radio for a while, focusing on missiles that traveled at lightning speed the trajectories projected on his HMD

A second later the two planes exploded with a loud roar, throwing pieces of the cell and countermeasures in the cloudy sky of that morning.

"Thank you again, I was afraid that was over for me"

"I think you owe me a beer"

"I do not know how you drink that stuff "

"Then you owe me something"

"Do not get any funny ideas ..."

"Warning, warning, EFS _Rembrandt_ CIC detected other aircraft launched from the Stennis"

"Other aircraft? We hit the catapult! How can they launch more fighters?" Asked Orca 1.

"It seems that they're launching F-35 VTOLs. It has to be their last card. All fighters, converge and intercept enemy reinforcements, to all ships, move in for the kill!"

"The threat level enemy has returned over 60%. Let's go guys" Orca 1 urged his fellow pilots "Yellow Squadron, your support would be appreciated"

"7 send 2 and 9 down to assist and 5 the others. I have a score to close"

"7, roger. Good luck sir"

12 climbed for the third time in search of captain Holden, who was alone now. A true duel between them.

_"Where are you?" _

He was flying through a bank of clouds with high electrostatic charge that they were making its sensors useless, so he had to rely on his eyes and luck. He saw a white silhouette through the mirror to the right.

Without thinking, he went all right, seeing then pass a barrage of vulcan. Holden.

"Still alive, I see"

"I am. You not for long"

He slowed down so that Holden could see him, and threw himself in a dogfight. If he could lure him to where he wanted to he could take advantage of the supermaneuverability of his fighter to perform a cobra or a Kulbit to let Holden surpass him and then destroy it. Provided that he fell into his trap.

"What are you afraid of? Is it because we are no longer in the Gulf against the terrorists with shitty planes but against a modern army that you don't attack me? I've always had respect for Navy pilots, but I never thought they were so cowards "

"Why do not you come and get me, European or are you afraid?"

"It wasn't me that made himself cover by the squadron which has now been turned into fish food. Your fleet is succumbing. Soon you will follow"

"Oh yeah? We'll may be losing, but the only one that will follow the path of death is you!"

The Hornet approached the Tempest at full afterburner. 12 was lowering his speed for preparing to be overtaken, getting incredibly close to Holden who strangely did not shoot, but he opted for a pull-up, while the colonel instinctively bent to the left.

_"Shit, I want to make a Wingover! And I fell for it, stupid, stupid!" _

Once the semicircle was completed, he dived and threw chaff and flare to confuse any missiles launched from his pursuer, who was now reappeared on the right mirror. He ascended on high to make a half circle and then swoop down towards his opponent at high speed. He was getting closer and closer, and he had to think fast.

_"Now"_ The colonel pulled towards him the stick and made a vertical inside loop, ending up in the queue of the F/A-18+, which he hooked up with a Geofon.

"Say hello to everyone"

The plane exploded in fire, flames and debris of aircraft and missile, which swooped into the ocean at the same speed of the plane. The colonel gave a smile thinking about the last moments of his opponent, when he realized that he was finished.

_"Closed account" _

"Yellow 12 here, the enemy threat level has fallen below 30%. The victory is at hand now"

The frigate EFS _Quatre Bras_, together with the frigate _Marengo_, _Canne_, the destroyer _Rhône_ and the supercarrier_ Rembrandt_, was part of a small task force assembled in haste in Iceland six days ago with the task of assisting the air force's top squadron , the Yellow Squadron, in the difficult task of sinking the USS _John C. Stennis _and its seven escort ships, to prevent her from reaching the rest of it's fleet off the coast of Newfoundland.

commander Jonckers, his crew and the rest of the task force had participated in the battle of Iceland, and they saw that a short ranged battle between ships would have brought nothing but destruction for the European ships, so they opted to support their fighters with a precision bombing with 120 Oto Melara pieces, but it turned out to be ineffective because of the system of American targeting jammer device, the notorious RAZOR, so the commodore had ordered the four warships to move closer to close the battle.

By the CIC of the frigate, established as the first ship to the left of the destroyer, Jonckers was monitoring the progress of the air battle by looking at the large glass radar monitor that detected fewer and fewer red dots.

"It seems that this time the Americans are losing, sir?" Asked the radar operator, Lt. Waleski.

"it would be the hour, lieutenant"

"Commander" The SHIPCOM speakers croaked the voice of the first officer on the bridge "We are in sight of the_ Stennis_"

_"Time to go" _

Jonckers walked through the hatch with twelve stars at eye level and went up a flight of stairs, walked towards the bow and stepped on the bridge. All crew members were focused on their screens, but when a Marine shouted "Commander on the bridge" everyone turned and saluted him, and the commander returned firmly. Once hailed he walked over to the glass window. The glass window was a large, dark, semicircular seventy-five cm high screen which functioned both as a window and a holographic display, allowing the officer to steer the ship from both locations. The commander pulled data from a portion of the screen and stood there contemplating the queen of the ocean dying, stabbed again and again by the missiles of the fighters.

_"What a sad sight" _

"Sir, look" the helmsman said to him "What is it that is getting up close to the island of the carrier?"

A large outline of the shape of a bar, at least fifteen meters long, was rising slowly past the island of the aircraft carrier. Once the bar was discovered, it made a 90 ° rotation and lit up with a blue light.

"What the hell ..?"

A flash of light departed from the ship, while the water in a straight line in front of the cannon opened in two as if something very fast was passing over the sea.

A second later the bow of the destroyer _Rhône_ exploded in a roar so loud as to break the windows of the destroyer and sending fragments of hull on the deck of the frigates next to it.

"This is the destroyer_ Rhône_, we've been hit! A bullet blew away our bow, huge shock waves! Requested permission to retire, I have several fires on board!"

"Helmsman! Bar on the left!"

The frigate tilted to the left as it made the sudden turn. The members of the bridge had to stand on chairs so as not to be thrown out of their seats because of the violence of the turn. The radar showed that the other ships were performing evasive maneuvers to avoid the deadly blows of the strange gun of the aircraft carrier which, it seemed, was recharging the energy.

On the screen all the data disappeared, and in their place appeared the words "New Orders". The commander unlocked the screen with his hand, opening the message. It said "_Rhône_ retreat. _Marengo_ and _Canne_, draw fire. _Quatre Bras_, use a EMP missile and disable the remaining enemy fleet. The fighters are already retreating and triggered protocol 17"

_"So they want them alive" _

"Arms, prepare the EMPM and calculate the optimal path to disable the enemy fleet. Systems, enable protocol 17, make the crew reentry from the open decks, seal the ship"

"Yes, sir"

Protocol 17 was nothing more than the order to take advantage of the technological superiority of European ships by applying a shutdown of electronic systems to avoid any major EMP. The protocol was activated instantly whenever all external doors of the ship were sealed. Similarly on the planes had been developed as a countermeasure to avoid being killed by friendly fire from STONEHENGE: the on-board computer would operate a shutdown lasting a fraction of a second when the shock electromagnetic shockwave came within range of the aircraft, and rekindled once the shockwave had passed. Of course it was always the case as to be as far away as possible from the explosion, but when you could not, there were some safety measures that, if anything, would have kept alive the crew.

The weapon on the aircraft carrier issued once again a blue glow, which struck the port side of the _Rhône_ in half, opening a gash circular four feet in diameter. The water began to enter the hole, from which came the bodies of sailors killed by the explosion. The ship began to slow down and descend a little below the waterline. There was a siren in the air. The signal to abandon ship.

Jonckers looked away from the pitiful sight. He wasn't a reporter who had to report any battle, he was a naval officer with full responsibility for the actions of his men. He had seen other ships sink and seen one, seen them all.

"The vessel is sealed, sir. Protocol 17 in place"

"Missile EMPM ready for launch, sir. Insert the key"

"Lieutenant Commander" The commander called his second, pointing to the panel of arms. He pressed the red button for three seconds, and when the light turned green above it, he motioned the lieutenant to lift the plastic cover and insert his key into the launch slot.

"At the start. Ready?"

He nodded.

"3 ... 2 ... 1 ... Go"

They turned the keys in the opposite direction, unlocking the button of the missile launch. Jonckers struck it with his fist and the dry sound of a rocket leaving the ship sounded in the air. The trail of white smoke appeared in the cloudy sky outside the window, directly above the American ships.

A second later, a blue explosion enveloped the two fleets.

THE KREMLIN, MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 13/06/2020 12:35

The room fell silent.

Izotov was there, with his eyes fixed on the screen and a faint smile on his dry lips. He closed his eyes. That success was only his. His.

_"Mine" _

Mikhailovich was the first to speak. "Sergei, on behalf of all, I think you have done an outstanding job. Not only we do now know in advance European orders, but we also had the opportunity to see in action two weapons of whom we did not know the existence, or which we would learn it too late to develop countermeasures. Your work is extremely valuable, General. The whole Russia is counting on you. I want a full report of the whole thing on my desk by 1600 today. The meeting is over "

All present congratulated Izotov before leaving the room, and in a short time the general was alone at the table. The smile had widened.

_"Mine"_

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And this is all for today!

Don't forget to review if you want to give me some advices or ideas in how to continue the story, I mean, I have the general outline almost perfectly shaped in my mind, but if you have some interesting suggestions, I'll be pleased of discussing them.

R&R people!

See you next time


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